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Odisha NGO Consultancy Services
Friday, October 31, 2014
NATIONAL CSR HUB FOR INDIAN NGOs
Please Visit for National CSR Hub for Indian NGOs at:
http://www.csr.tiss.edu
Empanelment of NGOs Guidelines
http://www.csr.tiss.edu/empanelment-of-ngo-s/guidelines
EMPANELMENT Of NGOs
http://www.csr.tiss.edu/empanelment-of-ngo-s/empanelment-application-form/view
Post cyclone, garbage threatens KGH health
VISAKHAPATNAM: Tree debris, logs and dried branches fight for space with discarded tyres, disposable utensils, polythene packets, food morsels and all sorts of litter at this site in the heart of the city. This is no dumping ground but a scene out of coastal Andhra Pradesh's largest government-run hospital King George Hospital, where the site allocated for the construction of the multi-storied CSR oncology block has turned into a huge dump-yard post Cyclone Hudhud.
Even as the civic authorities have not bothered to clear the waste, all the debris being dumped and sometimes burnt at the open site next to the dilapidated pathology block of KGH is making the hospital environment unhealthy and posing a health hazard to patients and staff alike.
"So much of waste piling up inside the biggest government hospital in coastal Andhra is not only an eyesore but also unhygienic as several patients are housed in wards in the vicinity," pointed out a senior doctor.
Though the foundation stone for the Rs 80-crore CSR oncology block was laid almost two years ago in January 2013, the construction work has not yet kick-started. Around Rs 55 crore has already been committed by many public sector units through various MoUs.
After the devastation unleashed by the cyclone, fallen trees and branches were cleared from various areas in the hospital and dumped at this site.
According to KGH superintendent Dr M Madhusudana Babu, after the cyclone the GVMC staff did not clear the garbage from the dumper bins in the area on a daily basis and hence it kept piling up. "Since the dumper bins are not cleared daily and they overflow, sometimes the hospital workers also throw waste in the area and add to the garbage. We will soon shift the dump yard towards the mortuary side. But before that we are planning to auction the tree waste and timber."
KGH civil surgeon resident medical officer Dr K S L G Sastry said that since GVMC was busy after the cyclone, their workers have not been coming to the hospital on a daily basis to clear garbage. "We will speak to the GVMC commissioner about this issue and hope that within a week the garbage problem is solved. However, we are very particular about biomedical waste management and are taking care to segregate and dispose it off properly on a daily basis," he said.
On the delays in commencing the construction works for the CSR project, the superintendent said there would be some change in the plans and architects were on the job. "The principal health secretary L V Subramanyam recently visited the hospital to inspect the cyclone damages. Already the roof of the female surgical ward has blown off and the pathology block is also in a dilapidated state. He asked us to prepare a new plan and shift the hospital centrally to this site besides housing the new oncology block. Accordingly, we have asked the architects to prepare a new master plan, which would soon be sent to him. Once that is approved, we can get going with the construction," added the superintendent.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Post-cyclone-garbage-threatens-KGH-health/articleshow/44989697.cms
Even as the civic authorities have not bothered to clear the waste, all the debris being dumped and sometimes burnt at the open site next to the dilapidated pathology block of KGH is making the hospital environment unhealthy and posing a health hazard to patients and staff alike.
"So much of waste piling up inside the biggest government hospital in coastal Andhra is not only an eyesore but also unhygienic as several patients are housed in wards in the vicinity," pointed out a senior doctor.
Though the foundation stone for the Rs 80-crore CSR oncology block was laid almost two years ago in January 2013, the construction work has not yet kick-started. Around Rs 55 crore has already been committed by many public sector units through various MoUs.
After the devastation unleashed by the cyclone, fallen trees and branches were cleared from various areas in the hospital and dumped at this site.
According to KGH superintendent Dr M Madhusudana Babu, after the cyclone the GVMC staff did not clear the garbage from the dumper bins in the area on a daily basis and hence it kept piling up. "Since the dumper bins are not cleared daily and they overflow, sometimes the hospital workers also throw waste in the area and add to the garbage. We will soon shift the dump yard towards the mortuary side. But before that we are planning to auction the tree waste and timber."
KGH civil surgeon resident medical officer Dr K S L G Sastry said that since GVMC was busy after the cyclone, their workers have not been coming to the hospital on a daily basis to clear garbage. "We will speak to the GVMC commissioner about this issue and hope that within a week the garbage problem is solved. However, we are very particular about biomedical waste management and are taking care to segregate and dispose it off properly on a daily basis," he said.
On the delays in commencing the construction works for the CSR project, the superintendent said there would be some change in the plans and architects were on the job. "The principal health secretary L V Subramanyam recently visited the hospital to inspect the cyclone damages. Already the roof of the female surgical ward has blown off and the pathology block is also in a dilapidated state. He asked us to prepare a new plan and shift the hospital centrally to this site besides housing the new oncology block. Accordingly, we have asked the architects to prepare a new master plan, which would soon be sent to him. Once that is approved, we can get going with the construction," added the superintendent.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Post-cyclone-garbage-threatens-KGH-health/articleshow/44989697.cms
Nalgonda NGOs ‘rally’ around the girl child
A massive rally being taken out by NGOs with 63 meters long National Flag to sensitize people on girl child protection at Marriguda in Nalgonda District on Wednesday. Photo:Singam Venkataramana
Participants carried a 63-metre-long national flag to sensitise the public on the need to save the girl child
To sensitise people on the issue of protecting the girl child, NGOs took out a massive rally here on Wednesday, holding a 63-metre-long national flag at Marriguda mandal headquarters.
A huge number of students, local public representatives, officials and representatives of various NGOs took part in the rally.
The procession, which began at Vattipalli Chowrastha, had students marching to the old bus station, while raising slogans on the need to maintain gender equality.
Speaking on the occasion, Action Aid India programme officer Kalapana Dayala said though some errant hospitals had been conducting sex determination tests, the government could not curb such practices due to lack of an able monitoring mechanism.
“Sex determination tests have been contributing to the decline of girl children in the State as many parents are going in for abortions if the child was found to be a girl,” she lamented, adding that given the rising levels of violence against women in the country, there existed among couples a fear to raise the girl child.
The rising gap in sex ratio would further cause problems in the country, if government failed to take appropriate measures to contain it, she said.
Kanchukatla Subhash, president of GRASS, an NGO, appealed to the district administration to take up special educative programmes to protect the girl child.
Local MLA Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy, representatives of NGOs, and others took part.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/nalgonda-ngos-rally-around-the-girl-child/article6545391.ece
India’s pioneering CSR law could have promise, but progress is slow
Earlier this year India became the first country to mandate corporate social responsibility by law in an effort to share the cost of development with the many companies growing fat on its economic rise.
The government first estimated CSR spending could top $3.3 billion, exciting development actors who saw a significant source of new funding.
But more than seven months after the ambitious rules came into force, implementation is slow and officials are slashing spending estimates because companies don’t expect to meet their targets in the first year.
Potential beneficiaries, including nongovernmental organizations, can still smell the money but are unsure when they’ll see it.
India’s biggest companies have practiced philanthropy for decades but giving has been “sporadic,” and has not aided development, according to the government.
The new rules in Section 135 of India’s Companies Act aim to change this, making it mandatory for companies of a certain size to spend 2 percent of their average net profit for the past three years on CSR, and forcing them to take a systematic approach.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who came to power in May promising rapid development, has thrown his weight behind the CSR law. His development priorities, like sanitation and vocational training, are influencing where many companies spend their money. After Modi used his important Independence Day speech to talk about the dire need for toilets, numerous companies promised to build them, including: Adani Group, Tata Consultancy Services, Coal India and Larsen Tourbro.
To get a piece of the CSR pot, NGOs like CARE India have been building internal capacity, hiring staff, and drafting corporate engagement strategies to suit the new legal landscape.
“We recognized there’s huge funding potential, so we’ve done an inward-looking analysis on how well-placed we are to approach corporates, we’ve tweaked our strategy and we’re employing more people for corporate outreach,” said Niresh Kumar, CARE India’s head of fundraising.
NGOs are approaching the companies that are required to spend on CSR — as per the law, this is all those registered in India with a net worth of 5 billion rupees ($82.5 million) turnover of 10 billion rupees, or a net profit of more than 50 million rupees.
The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, which is facilitating the law’s rollout for the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, initially estimated 16,000 companies out of the 950,000 registered in India would meet the criteria.
The total spend and work done by each company will only become clear after the financial year ends on March 31, 2015, when companies report their activities. Those that fail to spend the required 2 percent won’t be fined but must report why they didn’t comply.
The law requires companies to formulate and publish a CSR policy, and set up a CSR committee with three board members and an independent director.
CSR projects can be done by a company’s own nonprofit foundation, which many large Indian companies have set up for philanthropy, or through NGOs registered in India that have been running for at least three years. Smaller companies can pool their funds or contribute to a government development fund.
A 2008 survey of 28 companies doing CSR, including Tata Chemicals, Coca-Cola India and Reliance Industries, found 37 percent implemented initiatives through a separate foundation, while 58 percent had a separate CSR department. The survey, the most recent one conducted by industry body the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India, found NGOs were the partners of choice for 67 percent, while 58 percent worked with government departments and 21 percent with multilateral or bilateral organizations.
The act lists CSR areas as: hunger and poverty, education, health, gender equality and women empowerment, skills training, environment, social business projects and promotion of rural and national sports.
Work must be conducted in “project mode,” and can’t be one-off events like donations or marathons. Companies must also give preference to projects in their local area.
How are NGO’s setting up?
NGOs are boosting staff, doing research and creating strategies for CSR and private sector engagement.
CARE India has set up a CSR team of three people for private sector engagement and is hiring more.
“We’re doing an analysis on where the companies that are eligible for CSR are having operations and then we are approaching them with our programs and our need of funding in that area,” Kumar said.
CARE is targeting companies outside its operational area with programs that aren’t geographically bound, like corporate gender empowerment. It’s also expanding its CSR strategies for multinationals.
“It helps for them to have one single partner for both domestic and international CSR,” Kumar explained. “Airtel is very big in Africa and so is CARE, so now we’re looking at how our domestic partnership with Airtel can become an international one.”
Finally CARE is positioning itself as an influencer in CSR spending.
“We’re doing that by talking about issues, like gender rights within corporates and the social issues that prevail in this country,” he said.
Connecting the actors
Many NGOs are getting listed on databases set up by government and private players to connect companies with implementing partners. Ensuring these NGOs are credible is a key concern, as there are an estimated 2 million NGOs in India and the sector is widely unregulated.
The IICA has been tasked with building a “National CSR NGO Hub” to act as a “gateway” to CSR. To get listed, NGOs need to supply their Indian registration certificate, tax returns for the last three years and documents showing development activities.
However, the government issued the same orders for a CSR hub to be set up by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in 2010, when CSR was made compulsory for India’s public sector companies. TISS struggled due to a lack of resources, and NGOs like CARE faced lengthy delays getting approved. It currently has a database of 300-odd NGOs registered in India, evaluated on technical and financial measures.
A number of private consultants and NGO listing websites have also emerged to serve the growing CSR market. Some more well-regarded ones are: Credibility Alliance, Give India, CSO Partners, NextGen and the Indian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility.
Proactive NGOs like Deepalaya, which runs schools for underprivileged children, are using both government and private platforms to find donors. Deepalaya CEO TK Mathew registered with TISS and Credibility Alliance. He spends his days trawling the Internet for companies required to do CSR, checking their online policy and devising potential programs with cost predictions before making an approach.
Mathew said he has had discussions with a dozen companies, including Sony and Gas Authority of India, but has so far not secured any new partners.
Corporates don’t understand the complexity of development issues and sometimes have unrealistic expectations about what NGOs can achieve, including one electricity company that wanted to stop people from stealing power, he said.
“They expect social organizations can wave a magic wand,” Mathew said.
How is the rollout going?
With no mechanism to monitor implementation, there is no clear view of how the CSR rollout is progressing. But officials say many companies are struggling to set up and find partners for the large-scale CSR projects they need to do to comply with the law.
“Not a single project has gone online yet because companies have to completely reorient themselves,” said Bhaskar Chatterjee, the director of the IICA, who helped create the rules.
Corporations are undergoing a drastic transformation from “sporadically pumping in money here or there, leaving no significant impact behind” to formulating projects with predecided outcomes and systems for measuring progress and results, he said.
The government is not imposing a deadline for companies to start projects but hopes they will begin rolling out by December, Chatterjee said.
“Right now the government attitude is more enabling … we’re trying to give them a little more elbow room to get adjusted to the new act,” he said.
Large companies already involved in philanthropy are making sure their activities comply with the law and scouting for new projects if they need to scale up.
Give India, which vets NGOs and connects them with donors, is advising many large companies on how to plan, monitor, measure progress and mitigate risk for CSR projects.
“The corporates are still in discussions … people are still trying to figure out how to create a working model,” said Vikas Puthran, vice president of corporate alliances at Give India.
For companies with no history of giving or understanding of development, the task is harder. Small companies with limited budgets in particular can have unrealistic expectations and challenges.
The Confederation of Indian Industries, one of India’s main business associations, is advising a company with only 500,000 rupees to spend that wants to build a school, but has nearly exhausted its CSR budget on salaries for two new CSR staff.
“There are people who want to do really good stuff but their budgets are really small — it’s not viable,” said Sachin Joshi, the director of the CII-ITC Centre for Excellence for Sustainable Development.
Typically those with less to spend are encouraged to pool their resources with others or contribute to a government fund.
Compliance has been patchy among public sector companies who had already been required to participate in CSR and contribute some of their profits to development projects. Coal India announced in March that it was hiring 120 people to work on CSR after it was called out for spending barely 15 percent of its required budget last year. It was among 41 central public sector enterprises that failed to spend the required amount from 2012-2013, according to India’s comptroller and auditor general.
“There are some who are doing exceptionally good work, there are some who are catching up, there are some who have also not understood the concept of CSR and probably are not doing it the way it should be done,” said Venkatesh Kumar, director of TISS, which was tasked to help public enterprises implement CSR but is increasingly helping private companies. The institute is also starting to map CSR projects across India to avoid duplication and enable collaboration.
TISS has worked with about 70 companies doing CSR in 800 villages over the past three years or so. Most of the money is being spent on health, education and livelihoods, but in less developed rural areas, basic infrastructure made up a large part of development projects, Kumar said.
Most companies were interested in “routine” infrastructure-driven development, building “schools, hospitals and toilets,” said CII’s Joshi.
Factories and manufacturing units were particularly keen on skills training, which “feeds into their workforce,” Give India’s Puthran said.
But there are also fears some companies will leave project implementation until the last minute in the financial year, or mask data to avoid compliance, Mathew said.
And the CSR rules may not stay the same. Companies have successfully pushed for amendments, including getting staff volunteering and training of NGOs counted as CSR expenditure.
“A lot of this lobbying and influencing is going to happen after one year” when results are reported and the nature of the game becomes clear, said CII’s Joshi.
CII and India’s other major industry bodies — ASSOCHAM and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry — hold regular stakeholder engagement and capacity-building seminars, and are helping their members form policies and find partners. FICCI and CII also plan on building NGO databases.
How are companies setting up for CSR?
Many large corporations are handling CSR through their foundations while midsize companies are setting up internal teams to supervise projects carried out by implementing partners.
Aditya Birla Group, a $40 billion multinational, set up the Aditya Birla Center for Community Initiatives and Rural Development 18 years to provide strategic direction on rural development initiatives. The center is headed by Rajashree Birla.
Each company within the group has a CSR head, implementing staff and board level CSR committee. Birla sits on each CSR committee with Pragnya Ram, the Aditya Birla Group’s executive president of corporate communications and CSR as a permanent invitee.
The company’s CSR policy has five focus areas devised by the center: education, health and family welfare, social causes, infrastructure development and sustainable livelihood. The group spends more than 130 crore rupees annually working in 3,000 villages near its factories, partnering with government and NGOs, and engaging with CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM.
The Aditya Birla Group works with CII on vocational training programs and with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and NACO, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s AIDS control body, for health care and AIDS programs, Ram said.
“It is not possible for a corporate not to reach out to partners because we simply don’t have the expertise in all these areas,” she said.
It will take time for CSR to be fully implemented across India’s corporate world and there are many uncertainties: Will companies comply without facing penalties? Will CSR be coordinated effectively despite scarce government resources? Will funds reach the least developed areas where few companies are set up?
Despite the challenges, the new rules do have many thinking about CSR for the first time. While it appears there may be foot dragging among corporates, it also seems the law will force companies to evolve and model projects may emerge down the road. Local actors will continue to engage and monitor progress, but they won’t be alone — those outside the borders will be watching as well to see if the model works.
Join Devex, the largest online community for international development, to network with peers, discover talent and forge new partnerships — it’s free. Then sign up for the Devex Impact newsletter to receive cutting-edge news and analysis every month on the intersection of business and development.
Source: https://www.devex.com/news/india-s-pioneering-csr-law-could-have-promise-but-progress-is-slow-84220
The government first estimated CSR spending could top $3.3 billion, exciting development actors who saw a significant source of new funding.
But more than seven months after the ambitious rules came into force, implementation is slow and officials are slashing spending estimates because companies don’t expect to meet their targets in the first year.
Potential beneficiaries, including nongovernmental organizations, can still smell the money but are unsure when they’ll see it.
India’s biggest companies have practiced philanthropy for decades but giving has been “sporadic,” and has not aided development, according to the government.
The new rules in Section 135 of India’s Companies Act aim to change this, making it mandatory for companies of a certain size to spend 2 percent of their average net profit for the past three years on CSR, and forcing them to take a systematic approach.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who came to power in May promising rapid development, has thrown his weight behind the CSR law. His development priorities, like sanitation and vocational training, are influencing where many companies spend their money. After Modi used his important Independence Day speech to talk about the dire need for toilets, numerous companies promised to build them, including: Adani Group, Tata Consultancy Services, Coal India and Larsen Tourbro.
To get a piece of the CSR pot, NGOs like CARE India have been building internal capacity, hiring staff, and drafting corporate engagement strategies to suit the new legal landscape.
“We recognized there’s huge funding potential, so we’ve done an inward-looking analysis on how well-placed we are to approach corporates, we’ve tweaked our strategy and we’re employing more people for corporate outreach,” said Niresh Kumar, CARE India’s head of fundraising.
NGOs are approaching the companies that are required to spend on CSR — as per the law, this is all those registered in India with a net worth of 5 billion rupees ($82.5 million) turnover of 10 billion rupees, or a net profit of more than 50 million rupees.
The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, which is facilitating the law’s rollout for the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, initially estimated 16,000 companies out of the 950,000 registered in India would meet the criteria.
The total spend and work done by each company will only become clear after the financial year ends on March 31, 2015, when companies report their activities. Those that fail to spend the required 2 percent won’t be fined but must report why they didn’t comply.
The law requires companies to formulate and publish a CSR policy, and set up a CSR committee with three board members and an independent director.
CSR projects can be done by a company’s own nonprofit foundation, which many large Indian companies have set up for philanthropy, or through NGOs registered in India that have been running for at least three years. Smaller companies can pool their funds or contribute to a government development fund.
A 2008 survey of 28 companies doing CSR, including Tata Chemicals, Coca-Cola India and Reliance Industries, found 37 percent implemented initiatives through a separate foundation, while 58 percent had a separate CSR department. The survey, the most recent one conducted by industry body the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India, found NGOs were the partners of choice for 67 percent, while 58 percent worked with government departments and 21 percent with multilateral or bilateral organizations.
The act lists CSR areas as: hunger and poverty, education, health, gender equality and women empowerment, skills training, environment, social business projects and promotion of rural and national sports.
Work must be conducted in “project mode,” and can’t be one-off events like donations or marathons. Companies must also give preference to projects in their local area.
How are NGO’s setting up?
NGOs are boosting staff, doing research and creating strategies for CSR and private sector engagement.
CARE India has set up a CSR team of three people for private sector engagement and is hiring more.
“We’re doing an analysis on where the companies that are eligible for CSR are having operations and then we are approaching them with our programs and our need of funding in that area,” Kumar said.
CARE is targeting companies outside its operational area with programs that aren’t geographically bound, like corporate gender empowerment. It’s also expanding its CSR strategies for multinationals.
“It helps for them to have one single partner for both domestic and international CSR,” Kumar explained. “Airtel is very big in Africa and so is CARE, so now we’re looking at how our domestic partnership with Airtel can become an international one.”
Finally CARE is positioning itself as an influencer in CSR spending.
“We’re doing that by talking about issues, like gender rights within corporates and the social issues that prevail in this country,” he said.
Connecting the actors
Many NGOs are getting listed on databases set up by government and private players to connect companies with implementing partners. Ensuring these NGOs are credible is a key concern, as there are an estimated 2 million NGOs in India and the sector is widely unregulated.
The IICA has been tasked with building a “National CSR NGO Hub” to act as a “gateway” to CSR. To get listed, NGOs need to supply their Indian registration certificate, tax returns for the last three years and documents showing development activities.
However, the government issued the same orders for a CSR hub to be set up by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in 2010, when CSR was made compulsory for India’s public sector companies. TISS struggled due to a lack of resources, and NGOs like CARE faced lengthy delays getting approved. It currently has a database of 300-odd NGOs registered in India, evaluated on technical and financial measures.
A number of private consultants and NGO listing websites have also emerged to serve the growing CSR market. Some more well-regarded ones are: Credibility Alliance, Give India, CSO Partners, NextGen and the Indian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility.
Proactive NGOs like Deepalaya, which runs schools for underprivileged children, are using both government and private platforms to find donors. Deepalaya CEO TK Mathew registered with TISS and Credibility Alliance. He spends his days trawling the Internet for companies required to do CSR, checking their online policy and devising potential programs with cost predictions before making an approach.
Mathew said he has had discussions with a dozen companies, including Sony and Gas Authority of India, but has so far not secured any new partners.
Corporates don’t understand the complexity of development issues and sometimes have unrealistic expectations about what NGOs can achieve, including one electricity company that wanted to stop people from stealing power, he said.
“They expect social organizations can wave a magic wand,” Mathew said.
How is the rollout going?
With no mechanism to monitor implementation, there is no clear view of how the CSR rollout is progressing. But officials say many companies are struggling to set up and find partners for the large-scale CSR projects they need to do to comply with the law.
“Not a single project has gone online yet because companies have to completely reorient themselves,” said Bhaskar Chatterjee, the director of the IICA, who helped create the rules.
Corporations are undergoing a drastic transformation from “sporadically pumping in money here or there, leaving no significant impact behind” to formulating projects with predecided outcomes and systems for measuring progress and results, he said.
The government is not imposing a deadline for companies to start projects but hopes they will begin rolling out by December, Chatterjee said.
“Right now the government attitude is more enabling … we’re trying to give them a little more elbow room to get adjusted to the new act,” he said.
Large companies already involved in philanthropy are making sure their activities comply with the law and scouting for new projects if they need to scale up.
Give India, which vets NGOs and connects them with donors, is advising many large companies on how to plan, monitor, measure progress and mitigate risk for CSR projects.
“The corporates are still in discussions … people are still trying to figure out how to create a working model,” said Vikas Puthran, vice president of corporate alliances at Give India.
For companies with no history of giving or understanding of development, the task is harder. Small companies with limited budgets in particular can have unrealistic expectations and challenges.
The Confederation of Indian Industries, one of India’s main business associations, is advising a company with only 500,000 rupees to spend that wants to build a school, but has nearly exhausted its CSR budget on salaries for two new CSR staff.
“There are people who want to do really good stuff but their budgets are really small — it’s not viable,” said Sachin Joshi, the director of the CII-ITC Centre for Excellence for Sustainable Development.
Typically those with less to spend are encouraged to pool their resources with others or contribute to a government fund.
Compliance has been patchy among public sector companies who had already been required to participate in CSR and contribute some of their profits to development projects. Coal India announced in March that it was hiring 120 people to work on CSR after it was called out for spending barely 15 percent of its required budget last year. It was among 41 central public sector enterprises that failed to spend the required amount from 2012-2013, according to India’s comptroller and auditor general.
“There are some who are doing exceptionally good work, there are some who are catching up, there are some who have also not understood the concept of CSR and probably are not doing it the way it should be done,” said Venkatesh Kumar, director of TISS, which was tasked to help public enterprises implement CSR but is increasingly helping private companies. The institute is also starting to map CSR projects across India to avoid duplication and enable collaboration.
TISS has worked with about 70 companies doing CSR in 800 villages over the past three years or so. Most of the money is being spent on health, education and livelihoods, but in less developed rural areas, basic infrastructure made up a large part of development projects, Kumar said.
Most companies were interested in “routine” infrastructure-driven development, building “schools, hospitals and toilets,” said CII’s Joshi.
Factories and manufacturing units were particularly keen on skills training, which “feeds into their workforce,” Give India’s Puthran said.
But there are also fears some companies will leave project implementation until the last minute in the financial year, or mask data to avoid compliance, Mathew said.
And the CSR rules may not stay the same. Companies have successfully pushed for amendments, including getting staff volunteering and training of NGOs counted as CSR expenditure.
“A lot of this lobbying and influencing is going to happen after one year” when results are reported and the nature of the game becomes clear, said CII’s Joshi.
CII and India’s other major industry bodies — ASSOCHAM and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry — hold regular stakeholder engagement and capacity-building seminars, and are helping their members form policies and find partners. FICCI and CII also plan on building NGO databases.
How are companies setting up for CSR?
Many large corporations are handling CSR through their foundations while midsize companies are setting up internal teams to supervise projects carried out by implementing partners.
Aditya Birla Group, a $40 billion multinational, set up the Aditya Birla Center for Community Initiatives and Rural Development 18 years to provide strategic direction on rural development initiatives. The center is headed by Rajashree Birla.
Each company within the group has a CSR head, implementing staff and board level CSR committee. Birla sits on each CSR committee with Pragnya Ram, the Aditya Birla Group’s executive president of corporate communications and CSR as a permanent invitee.
The company’s CSR policy has five focus areas devised by the center: education, health and family welfare, social causes, infrastructure development and sustainable livelihood. The group spends more than 130 crore rupees annually working in 3,000 villages near its factories, partnering with government and NGOs, and engaging with CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM.
The Aditya Birla Group works with CII on vocational training programs and with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and NACO, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s AIDS control body, for health care and AIDS programs, Ram said.
“It is not possible for a corporate not to reach out to partners because we simply don’t have the expertise in all these areas,” she said.
It will take time for CSR to be fully implemented across India’s corporate world and there are many uncertainties: Will companies comply without facing penalties? Will CSR be coordinated effectively despite scarce government resources? Will funds reach the least developed areas where few companies are set up?
Despite the challenges, the new rules do have many thinking about CSR for the first time. While it appears there may be foot dragging among corporates, it also seems the law will force companies to evolve and model projects may emerge down the road. Local actors will continue to engage and monitor progress, but they won’t be alone — those outside the borders will be watching as well to see if the model works.
Join Devex, the largest online community for international development, to network with peers, discover talent and forge new partnerships — it’s free. Then sign up for the Devex Impact newsletter to receive cutting-edge news and analysis every month on the intersection of business and development.
Source: https://www.devex.com/news/india-s-pioneering-csr-law-could-have-promise-but-progress-is-slow-84220
Genpact partners with IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council NASSCOM
New Delhi, Oct 30 (IBNS) Genpact Limited (NYSE: G), a global leader in designing, transforming, and running intelligent business operations, announced that it is partnering with the Sector Skills Council and NASSCOM Foundation to jointly create and launch "Reach Higher," a vocational skill-building program to align with the Government of India̢۪s aspiration to train 150 million people by 2022
This is a strategic part of Genpact’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts to generate sustainable impact through continuous training and employability for the under-served community at large.
Delivered through India’s leading vocational training companies NIIT and Global Talent Track (GTT), the program will equip aspirants with skills in specialized areas such as finance and accounting across multiple industries and customer service for the high tech, banking, and insurance industries.
This program will also train them in job-related essentials such as English communication, soft skills and computer literacy. It aims to benefit 18-to-30 year-olds and will be driven through both on-campus and off-campus models across multiple cities.
Announcing the launch at a formal event, Amit Aggarwal, senior vice president and CSR Leader at Genpact said, "This is a pivotal moment in the history of vocational skilling in India. This program will create a talent pipeline for many different companies to easily hire from and also allow the talent pool to find ready access to aspirational jobs – thereby creating a win-win for all and truly generating long-term sustainable impact. This model, if done correctly, can be scaled massively across skills that companies need and want which can contribute significantly to the job creation challenge in India.”
“IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council NASSCOM (SSC NASSCOM) along with the Genpact, NASSCOM Foundation and some of the leading training providers have come together to drive a powerful skill development initiative to create a skills ready workforce for the future. Through this initiative, we intend to leverage the capabilities of our partners to positively impact the ecosystem and create success stories of individuals from across communities in India.” said Dr. Sandhya Chintala, Executive Director, SSC NASSCOM & Vice President, NASSCOM.
Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, NASSCOM Foundation added, “This program is a huge leap forward from the general industry practice of providing skills training only to the hired individuals. For the first time, a large corporate in partnership with two skills development companies and our Foundation will be imparting vocational skills to the youth in the underserved communities to make them employment ready. This will also act as a role model for enabling effective use of the CSR funds of tech firms for the benefit of the ever expanding young population of our country. I see a path to Digital India emerging through such initiatives.”
Source: http://indiablooms.com/ibns_new/finance-details/1017/genpact-partners-with-it-ites-sector-skills-council-nasscom.html
This is a strategic part of Genpact’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts to generate sustainable impact through continuous training and employability for the under-served community at large.
Delivered through India’s leading vocational training companies NIIT and Global Talent Track (GTT), the program will equip aspirants with skills in specialized areas such as finance and accounting across multiple industries and customer service for the high tech, banking, and insurance industries.
This program will also train them in job-related essentials such as English communication, soft skills and computer literacy. It aims to benefit 18-to-30 year-olds and will be driven through both on-campus and off-campus models across multiple cities.
Announcing the launch at a formal event, Amit Aggarwal, senior vice president and CSR Leader at Genpact said, "This is a pivotal moment in the history of vocational skilling in India. This program will create a talent pipeline for many different companies to easily hire from and also allow the talent pool to find ready access to aspirational jobs – thereby creating a win-win for all and truly generating long-term sustainable impact. This model, if done correctly, can be scaled massively across skills that companies need and want which can contribute significantly to the job creation challenge in India.”
“IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council NASSCOM (SSC NASSCOM) along with the Genpact, NASSCOM Foundation and some of the leading training providers have come together to drive a powerful skill development initiative to create a skills ready workforce for the future. Through this initiative, we intend to leverage the capabilities of our partners to positively impact the ecosystem and create success stories of individuals from across communities in India.” said Dr. Sandhya Chintala, Executive Director, SSC NASSCOM & Vice President, NASSCOM.
Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, NASSCOM Foundation added, “This program is a huge leap forward from the general industry practice of providing skills training only to the hired individuals. For the first time, a large corporate in partnership with two skills development companies and our Foundation will be imparting vocational skills to the youth in the underserved communities to make them employment ready. This will also act as a role model for enabling effective use of the CSR funds of tech firms for the benefit of the ever expanding young population of our country. I see a path to Digital India emerging through such initiatives.”
Source: http://indiablooms.com/ibns_new/finance-details/1017/genpact-partners-with-it-ites-sector-skills-council-nasscom.html
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Forcible Do-gooding
Scrap mandatory CSR which serves no purpose
India is the only country in the world that has forced do-gooding on companies, by law; that is, mandatory and targeted spending on corporate social responsibility (CSR). On the face of it, this is yet another bleeding-heart decision of the decade long Congress-led government that will serve no purpose for those intended to benefit. It will only create exasperation and bitterness among companies.
Despite hectic corporate lobbying, the Narendra Modi government has decided not to scrap mandatory CSR. However, in a tacit acknowledgement of the hasty, restrictive and badly drafted provisions, it has been issuing a flurry of clarifications some of which are withdrawn with the same speed at which they were issued.
A talk by Noshir Dadrawala, philanthropy expert and CEO of the Centre for Philantrophy, at Moneylife Foundation, on 20th October, opened our eyes to all that is wrong with this hypocritical attempt to funnel corporate funds to NGOs. Mr Dadrawala’s wide experience of helping corporates and NGOs provides the best possible snapshot of what is wrong with this legislation that has become operative in the current financial year. Take a look.
• Even a philanthropy expert like Mr Dadrawala repeatedly referred to companies subject to the CSR compulsion as ‘affected’ by the Act. The number is around 16,000 but the estimate of funds that would be available has rapidly been revised from Rs20,000 crore (that was originally estimated) to just around Rs15,000 crore or much less. But, for those companies that fall in the CSR zone, 2% of profit before tax is significant income that is hard-earned and should only be spent voluntarily. Consequently, Mr Dadrawala says, CSR has been reduced to ‘mere arithmetic’ or compliance, taking the heart out of the provision. This is neither good for those who selflessly devote time to various causes nor for companies who are forced to fork out funds against their wish.
• “Christmas is not around the corner,” he told a room packed with activists and NGOs looking for funding. Large public and private sector companies within the CSR ambit not only spend over 2% or even more on sustained support to their chosen projects and will continue to do so.
• The CSR mandate needlessly forces companies to set up their own NGOs/foundations for ‘managing’ the CSR initiatives. This is money needlessly squandered in administrative expenses, instead of reaching specific projects. Worse, the law has only spawned an army of CSR consultants who are collecting fat fees, instead of money going towards deserving social causes.
• A lot of the CSR advice being given is about how to buy time and delay spending the money. In many cases, the funds available are too small, while the statutory restrictions and reporting requirements too onerous (utilisation reports, no funding of administrative cost, only funding of projects and not ongoing activities and so on) to structure a project to get the funds. Joining up with other companies to fund a CSR project has its own set of difficulties.
• Since project implementation agencies (NGOs) have to be in existence for at least three years, it shrinks the donation pie for new NGOs. Mr Dadrawala also says that onerous reporting requirements make it a win-win for companies to simply make a donation to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to fulfil their mandate. Others, with larger funds to donate, would prefer to give it to NGOs who enjoy a 100% or 175% tax exemption because of the nature of their activities.
• The large NGOs have discovered an excellent revenue generating activity in holding seminars that promise to tell people how to get a share of the CSR pie by pitching their project proposals correctly. These seminars charge anywhere between a few hundred to a few thousand rupees, which only squanders the scarce resources of NGOs.
All this begs a simple question: Why make CSR mandatory when it will end up pleasing nobody—neither donors, nor beneficiaries, nor the implementing agencies? Instead, voluntary donations of time and effort in areas where companies have domain expertise ought to be encouraged. Will the Modi sarkar see sense on CSR?
Source: http://www.moneylife.in/article/forcible-do-gooding/39234.html
India is the only country in the world that has forced do-gooding on companies, by law; that is, mandatory and targeted spending on corporate social responsibility (CSR). On the face of it, this is yet another bleeding-heart decision of the decade long Congress-led government that will serve no purpose for those intended to benefit. It will only create exasperation and bitterness among companies.
Despite hectic corporate lobbying, the Narendra Modi government has decided not to scrap mandatory CSR. However, in a tacit acknowledgement of the hasty, restrictive and badly drafted provisions, it has been issuing a flurry of clarifications some of which are withdrawn with the same speed at which they were issued.
A talk by Noshir Dadrawala, philanthropy expert and CEO of the Centre for Philantrophy, at Moneylife Foundation, on 20th October, opened our eyes to all that is wrong with this hypocritical attempt to funnel corporate funds to NGOs. Mr Dadrawala’s wide experience of helping corporates and NGOs provides the best possible snapshot of what is wrong with this legislation that has become operative in the current financial year. Take a look.
• Even a philanthropy expert like Mr Dadrawala repeatedly referred to companies subject to the CSR compulsion as ‘affected’ by the Act. The number is around 16,000 but the estimate of funds that would be available has rapidly been revised from Rs20,000 crore (that was originally estimated) to just around Rs15,000 crore or much less. But, for those companies that fall in the CSR zone, 2% of profit before tax is significant income that is hard-earned and should only be spent voluntarily. Consequently, Mr Dadrawala says, CSR has been reduced to ‘mere arithmetic’ or compliance, taking the heart out of the provision. This is neither good for those who selflessly devote time to various causes nor for companies who are forced to fork out funds against their wish.
• “Christmas is not around the corner,” he told a room packed with activists and NGOs looking for funding. Large public and private sector companies within the CSR ambit not only spend over 2% or even more on sustained support to their chosen projects and will continue to do so.
• The CSR mandate needlessly forces companies to set up their own NGOs/foundations for ‘managing’ the CSR initiatives. This is money needlessly squandered in administrative expenses, instead of reaching specific projects. Worse, the law has only spawned an army of CSR consultants who are collecting fat fees, instead of money going towards deserving social causes.
• A lot of the CSR advice being given is about how to buy time and delay spending the money. In many cases, the funds available are too small, while the statutory restrictions and reporting requirements too onerous (utilisation reports, no funding of administrative cost, only funding of projects and not ongoing activities and so on) to structure a project to get the funds. Joining up with other companies to fund a CSR project has its own set of difficulties.
• Since project implementation agencies (NGOs) have to be in existence for at least three years, it shrinks the donation pie for new NGOs. Mr Dadrawala also says that onerous reporting requirements make it a win-win for companies to simply make a donation to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to fulfil their mandate. Others, with larger funds to donate, would prefer to give it to NGOs who enjoy a 100% or 175% tax exemption because of the nature of their activities.
• The large NGOs have discovered an excellent revenue generating activity in holding seminars that promise to tell people how to get a share of the CSR pie by pitching their project proposals correctly. These seminars charge anywhere between a few hundred to a few thousand rupees, which only squanders the scarce resources of NGOs.
All this begs a simple question: Why make CSR mandatory when it will end up pleasing nobody—neither donors, nor beneficiaries, nor the implementing agencies? Instead, voluntary donations of time and effort in areas where companies have domain expertise ought to be encouraged. Will the Modi sarkar see sense on CSR?
Source: http://www.moneylife.in/article/forcible-do-gooding/39234.html
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Scheme to protect girl child may be launched on Nov 14
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to launch an ambitious scheme to empower the girl child called ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ on November 14.
Initially, the Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry will be launching the scheme in 100 districts across India which has the worst child sex ratio (CSR).
Through a slew of measures such as incentivising pregnant mothers to register during the first trimester to rewarding informers to help in identifying unregistered clinics indulging in illegal sex selection test, the ministry is targeting to bring down the declining ratio by 50 points every year.
From 927 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001 to 918 girls per 1,000 boys in 2011, CSR in India has dipped to an all time low since Independence.
Advocacy would be a key component of the scheme for which the Modi government has allocated Rs. 100 crore in the 2014-15 budget.
“The idea is to use incentives and disincentives; right from the time a girl child is born to protect her,” said WCD minister Maneka Gandhi.
On October 31, Gandhi would be holding meeting of senior district officials in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to discuss the scheme’s implementation.
Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/scheme-to-protect-girl-child-may-be-launched-on-nov-14/article1-1279626.aspx
Initially, the Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry will be launching the scheme in 100 districts across India which has the worst child sex ratio (CSR).
Through a slew of measures such as incentivising pregnant mothers to register during the first trimester to rewarding informers to help in identifying unregistered clinics indulging in illegal sex selection test, the ministry is targeting to bring down the declining ratio by 50 points every year.
From 927 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001 to 918 girls per 1,000 boys in 2011, CSR in India has dipped to an all time low since Independence.
Advocacy would be a key component of the scheme for which the Modi government has allocated Rs. 100 crore in the 2014-15 budget.
“The idea is to use incentives and disincentives; right from the time a girl child is born to protect her,” said WCD minister Maneka Gandhi.
On October 31, Gandhi would be holding meeting of senior district officials in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to discuss the scheme’s implementation.
Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/scheme-to-protect-girl-child-may-be-launched-on-nov-14/article1-1279626.aspx
Donations to Swach Bharat Kosh, Clean Ganga now part of CSR
MUMBAI : The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has included donations to the Swach Bharat Kosh and the Clean Ganga Fund — set up by the Central government — as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) spends by India Inc. This notification was issued last Friday, October 24.
As donations made to eligible funds qualify for certain tax breaks, India Inc is eagerly looking forward to a notification from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
In February, MCA had amended Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 and a final set of CSR activities were outlined. These included activities for improving sanitation — donations to Swach Bharat Koch now fall in this segment, whereas donations towards the Clean Ganga Fund qualify as an 'activity for conservation of natural resources and maintaining the quality of water'.
Corporate head-honchos have responded enthusiastically to the Swach Bharat campaign and have cleaned public places. CSR experts feel that both these funds — Swach Bharat Kosh and Clean Ganga Fund — could attract sizeable donations from India Inc. Donations are also a hassle-free way of meeting CSR obligations, according to experts.
On the tax front, it may be recalled that the maiden Budget of the new government had clarified that expenditure incurred towards CSR activities will not be allowed as deductible business expenditure. In other words, such expenditure would not be deducible for tax purposes under section 37(1) of the Income Tax (I-T) Act and will not directly reduce the taxable business profits of a company.
But, India Inc could avail of any tax benefits that were available in respect of such expenditure under other specific sections of the I-T Act, such as section 80G which relates to donations. For instance, contributions to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund also qualify as a CSR spend. Further, donations to these funds are entitled to a 100% deduction from taxable income.
Under section 80G of the I-T Act, the amount of donation is deductible from taxable income, either in full or to the extent of 50%. The aggregate maximum amount which is allowed as a deduction is subject to a ceiling of 10% of the gross total income of the donor. For certain funds, such as the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund, this ceiling of 10% doesn't apply.
Hence, a notification from the CBDT with regards to the tax breaks available to donations made to Swach Bharat Kosh and the Clean Ganga Fund is crucial, say tax experts.
When the setting up of the Clean Ganga Fund was announced, the government had indicated that even foreign donors could get suitable tax exemptions under domestic tax laws (Indian Income Tax Act) wherever permissible. It was also indicated that the government would explore the possibility of setting up ancillary funds in a few other countries where there is a large dominance of Indian expats — such as USA, UK, Singapore and UAE — to enable Indian migrants to contribute to the fund and get a tax benefit in these countries. It is learnt that the various modalities of this are being worked out.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Donations-to-Swach-Bharat-Kosh-Clean-Ganga-now-part-of-CSR/articleshow/44954763.cms
As donations made to eligible funds qualify for certain tax breaks, India Inc is eagerly looking forward to a notification from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
In February, MCA had amended Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 and a final set of CSR activities were outlined. These included activities for improving sanitation — donations to Swach Bharat Koch now fall in this segment, whereas donations towards the Clean Ganga Fund qualify as an 'activity for conservation of natural resources and maintaining the quality of water'.
Corporate head-honchos have responded enthusiastically to the Swach Bharat campaign and have cleaned public places. CSR experts feel that both these funds — Swach Bharat Kosh and Clean Ganga Fund — could attract sizeable donations from India Inc. Donations are also a hassle-free way of meeting CSR obligations, according to experts.
On the tax front, it may be recalled that the maiden Budget of the new government had clarified that expenditure incurred towards CSR activities will not be allowed as deductible business expenditure. In other words, such expenditure would not be deducible for tax purposes under section 37(1) of the Income Tax (I-T) Act and will not directly reduce the taxable business profits of a company.
But, India Inc could avail of any tax benefits that were available in respect of such expenditure under other specific sections of the I-T Act, such as section 80G which relates to donations. For instance, contributions to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund also qualify as a CSR spend. Further, donations to these funds are entitled to a 100% deduction from taxable income.
Under section 80G of the I-T Act, the amount of donation is deductible from taxable income, either in full or to the extent of 50%. The aggregate maximum amount which is allowed as a deduction is subject to a ceiling of 10% of the gross total income of the donor. For certain funds, such as the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund, this ceiling of 10% doesn't apply.
Hence, a notification from the CBDT with regards to the tax breaks available to donations made to Swach Bharat Kosh and the Clean Ganga Fund is crucial, say tax experts.
When the setting up of the Clean Ganga Fund was announced, the government had indicated that even foreign donors could get suitable tax exemptions under domestic tax laws (Indian Income Tax Act) wherever permissible. It was also indicated that the government would explore the possibility of setting up ancillary funds in a few other countries where there is a large dominance of Indian expats — such as USA, UK, Singapore and UAE — to enable Indian migrants to contribute to the fund and get a tax benefit in these countries. It is learnt that the various modalities of this are being worked out.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Donations-to-Swach-Bharat-Kosh-Clean-Ganga-now-part-of-CSR/articleshow/44954763.cms
Cash payments of more than Rs 20,000 prohibited by FCRA Department
FCRA Dept has come out with a Circular dated 21st October 2014, as per which that NGOs utilizing funds out of their FC Designated accounts and FCRA Utilisation Accounts must utilize these funds through account payee cheques or through demand drafts. Any payments made in cash could result in scrutiny.
Thus please bring it to notice of all NGOs that you are associated with to shun cash payments to the extent possible, but certainly no payments above Rs 20,000 should be made in cash.
Thus please bring it to notice of all NGOs that you are associated with to shun cash payments to the extent possible, but certainly no payments above Rs 20,000 should be made in cash.
Monday, October 27, 2014
FCRA Advisory to Incur Expenditure above Rs. 20,000/- by Cheque or Draft
Cash is no longer king...for FCRA holders
Cash makes the world go round, as they say. Most people therefore love being paid in crisp currency notes. Some refuse to accept cash at all, especially from NGOs.
The FCRA Department has put a spanner into this scheme of things. From now on, NGOs should avoid cash payments of Rs.20, 000 or more. These should be made by cheque / demand drafts (ideally crossed account payee). You can also make the payments by bank transfer.
If you ignore this warning, and continue drawing large amounts of cash from FCRA bank account, be prepared to face deeper scrutiny. Usually this means a polite invitation to visit FCRA office in Delhi with all your books and accounts. This can be quite an experience.
And the invitation card does not say RSVP either.
Ref:
FCRA Advisory dated 21-Oct-14.
FCRA refers to Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. Applicable in India.
NGOs spending over Rs 20,000 in cash to attract intensive government scrutiny
NEW DELHI: Tightening the screws on Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and associations, the Home Ministryhas said that any association indulging in cash payments in the excess of Rs 20000 will attract "intensive scrutiny" from government.
This follows a detailed inspection lately of records and accounts of associations which have been granted prior permission by the government to receive foreign contributions. "It has been observed that some associations withdraw huge amounts of Foreign Contribution (FC) from their FC designated bank accounts and Utilisation accounts by cash," the Home Ministry said in a circular issued by a Joint Secretary on October 21, which ET has accessed.
he Home Ministry has asked NGOs to incur all expenditure above Rs 20000 by cheque or drafts. "As per the Income Tax Act, any expenditure incurred by certain category of NGOs in respect of which payment is made for a sum exceeding Rs 20000 otherwise than by an account payee cheque drawn on a bank or by an account payee bank draft, shall not be allowed as a deduction under the Income Tax Act," the Circular says.
It adds that the issue of fixing an upper limit for incurring expenditure by associations registered/granted permission under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010 by cash from designated bank accounts has been "under consideration" of the government for some time. "The Government, after considering the issue, advises all FCRA associations that items of expenditure/payments amounting to Rs 20000 should be done by cheque or demand drafts," the Ministry says.
It has been further specified that the records and accounts of associations indulging in cash payments of Rs 20000 or more from the designated bank accounts "are likely to require more intensive scrutiny by government" and the circular has been issued with approval of the competent authority.
Source: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-10-26/news/55446635_1_home-ministry-accounts-expenditure
This follows a detailed inspection lately of records and accounts of associations which have been granted prior permission by the government to receive foreign contributions. "It has been observed that some associations withdraw huge amounts of Foreign Contribution (FC) from their FC designated bank accounts and Utilisation accounts by cash," the Home Ministry said in a circular issued by a Joint Secretary on October 21, which ET has accessed.
he Home Ministry has asked NGOs to incur all expenditure above Rs 20000 by cheque or drafts. "As per the Income Tax Act, any expenditure incurred by certain category of NGOs in respect of which payment is made for a sum exceeding Rs 20000 otherwise than by an account payee cheque drawn on a bank or by an account payee bank draft, shall not be allowed as a deduction under the Income Tax Act," the Circular says.
It adds that the issue of fixing an upper limit for incurring expenditure by associations registered/granted permission under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010 by cash from designated bank accounts has been "under consideration" of the government for some time. "The Government, after considering the issue, advises all FCRA associations that items of expenditure/payments amounting to Rs 20000 should be done by cheque or demand drafts," the Ministry says.
It has been further specified that the records and accounts of associations indulging in cash payments of Rs 20000 or more from the designated bank accounts "are likely to require more intensive scrutiny by government" and the circular has been issued with approval of the competent authority.
Source: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-10-26/news/55446635_1_home-ministry-accounts-expenditure
Multinational corporations seek clarity on CSR legal norms
NEW DELHI: Multinational corporations operating in India have sought clarity on the corporate social responsibility norms, saying the inconsistency between theCompanies Act and the CSR rules has put them in a fix on whether they are legally bound to follow the norms on mandatory social spend.
These companies say while Section 135 of the Companies Act of 2013—which deals with corporate social responsibility or CSR—applies only to Indian companies, the CSR rules issued earlier this year to implement the section says oreign companies, their project offices and branches in India need to follow law. The Companies Act requires a company to spend 2% of its average net profit in the preceding three years on CSR if it has a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, or net profit of Rs 5 crore or more.
"There's a lot of ambiguity whether CSR norms in the new Act are applicable to us or not," said a senior executive of a leading MNC operating in India's Infrastructure sector. "We, in any case, as a part of our global practice, do CSR in locations we operate in but are we bound to do it as per the law is yet to be clarified. We have raised the issue with the government."The Act says that its provisions will apply to "companies incorporated under this Act or under any previous company law".
But the CSR rules have expanded the reference to a "company" by including foreign firmshaving offices in India. "The rules seem to have gone beyond what was stated in the Act, by also including a foreign company having branch offices and project of-fices, although it does not fall into the definition of a company," said Sai Venkateshwaran, partner and head-accounting advisory services at KPMG in India.
Experts say, as per the law, foreign companies are not bound to follow CSR norms."It's a settled legal position that rules are supplementary and subservient to the provision of statute and cannot enlarge its scope. We're advising our foreign clients that legally the Act has to be followed not rules. The government needs to amend the law to get foreign firms in ambit of CSR norms," said Rakesh Nangia, managing partner at Nangia & Company.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/multinational-corporations-seek-clarity-on-csr-legal-norms/articleshow/44943103.cms
These companies say while Section 135 of the Companies Act of 2013—which deals with corporate social responsibility or CSR—applies only to Indian companies, the CSR rules issued earlier this year to implement the section says oreign companies, their project offices and branches in India need to follow law. The Companies Act requires a company to spend 2% of its average net profit in the preceding three years on CSR if it has a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, or net profit of Rs 5 crore or more.
"There's a lot of ambiguity whether CSR norms in the new Act are applicable to us or not," said a senior executive of a leading MNC operating in India's Infrastructure sector. "We, in any case, as a part of our global practice, do CSR in locations we operate in but are we bound to do it as per the law is yet to be clarified. We have raised the issue with the government."The Act says that its provisions will apply to "companies incorporated under this Act or under any previous company law".
But the CSR rules have expanded the reference to a "company" by including foreign firmshaving offices in India. "The rules seem to have gone beyond what was stated in the Act, by also including a foreign company having branch offices and project of-fices, although it does not fall into the definition of a company," said Sai Venkateshwaran, partner and head-accounting advisory services at KPMG in India.
Experts say, as per the law, foreign companies are not bound to follow CSR norms."It's a settled legal position that rules are supplementary and subservient to the provision of statute and cannot enlarge its scope. We're advising our foreign clients that legally the Act has to be followed not rules. The government needs to amend the law to get foreign firms in ambit of CSR norms," said Rakesh Nangia, managing partner at Nangia & Company.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/multinational-corporations-seek-clarity-on-csr-legal-norms/articleshow/44943103.cms
Govt makes CSR spending mandatory for public sector companies
The Department of Public Enterprises has come out with the revised guidelines following the new Companies Act
Coming out with revised guidelines, the government has made it mandatory for all profit-making central public sector companies to spend money on CSR activities.
Besides, these enterprises cannot include money spent on sustainable development efforts under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ambit.
The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has come out with the revised guidelines following the new Companies Actmaking social welfare spending compulsory for certain class of profitable corporates mandatory.
In comparison with provisions under the Companies Act, 2013, the latest DPE norms are more strict since it would be applicable on all profit-making central public sector enterprises.
As per the companies law, certain class of entities are required to shell out at least two per cent of their three- year annual average net profit towards CSR activities. This would be applicable to companies having at least Rs 5 crore net profit, or Rs 1,000 crore turnover or Rs 500 crore net worth.
According to revised DPE guidelines, issued on October 21, "it is mandatory for all profit-making CPSEs to undertake CSR activities as per provisions of the Act and CSR rules".
These guidelines are effective from April 1.
CPSEs that do not meet the eligibility criteria under the Companies Act but have made profit in the preceding year are now required to spend "at least two per cent of the profit made in the preceding year on CSR activities".
Under the guidelines, prepared after consultations with the Corporate Affairs Ministry, sustainability efforts cannot be considered as CSR activities.
"Amount spent on sustainability initiatives in the pursuit of sustainable development while conducting normal business activities would not constitute a part of the CSR spend from two per cent of the profits as stipulated in the Act and the CSR Rules," DPE, the nodal agency for all public sector companies, has said.
Besides, the public sector entities are required to carry forward the unspent CSR funds to the next year.
"In case of CPSEs mere reporting and explaining the reasons for not spending this amount in a particular year would not suffice and the unspent CSR amount in a particular year would not lapse.
"It would instead be carried forward to the next year for utilisation for purpose for which it was allocated," it said.
Among others, DPE has said that public sector companies should look at collaborations in CSR activities for "greater social, economic and environmental impact" of such works.
CPSEs have to adopt a CSR and Sustainability Policy with approval from their respective boards.
Coming out with revised guidelines, the government has made it mandatory for all profit-making central public sector companies to spend money on CSR activities.
Besides, these enterprises cannot include money spent on sustainable development efforts under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ambit.
The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has come out with the revised guidelines following the new Companies Actmaking social welfare spending compulsory for certain class of profitable corporates mandatory.
In comparison with provisions under the Companies Act, 2013, the latest DPE norms are more strict since it would be applicable on all profit-making central public sector enterprises.
As per the companies law, certain class of entities are required to shell out at least two per cent of their three- year annual average net profit towards CSR activities. This would be applicable to companies having at least Rs 5 crore net profit, or Rs 1,000 crore turnover or Rs 500 crore net worth.
According to revised DPE guidelines, issued on October 21, "it is mandatory for all profit-making CPSEs to undertake CSR activities as per provisions of the Act and CSR rules".
These guidelines are effective from April 1.
CPSEs that do not meet the eligibility criteria under the Companies Act but have made profit in the preceding year are now required to spend "at least two per cent of the profit made in the preceding year on CSR activities".
Under the guidelines, prepared after consultations with the Corporate Affairs Ministry, sustainability efforts cannot be considered as CSR activities.
"Amount spent on sustainability initiatives in the pursuit of sustainable development while conducting normal business activities would not constitute a part of the CSR spend from two per cent of the profits as stipulated in the Act and the CSR Rules," DPE, the nodal agency for all public sector companies, has said.
Besides, the public sector entities are required to carry forward the unspent CSR funds to the next year.
"In case of CPSEs mere reporting and explaining the reasons for not spending this amount in a particular year would not suffice and the unspent CSR amount in a particular year would not lapse.
"It would instead be carried forward to the next year for utilisation for purpose for which it was allocated," it said.
Among others, DPE has said that public sector companies should look at collaborations in CSR activities for "greater social, economic and environmental impact" of such works.
CPSEs have to adopt a CSR and Sustainability Policy with approval from their respective boards.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Weekly child rescue drive govt vowed in Sept yet to start: NGO
NOIDA: The district labour department has failed to deliver its promise to conduct weekly operations to rescue child labourers in Gautam Budh Nagar, child rights NGOs alleged on Friday.
In September, the Gautam Budh Nagar assistant labour commissioner M K Joshi had announced with great fanfare that his department had formed two teams to conduct rescue operations, one each in Noida and Greater Noida, every week. But it now appears that the initiative never kicked off.
Allegations of the labour department dragging its feet come at a time when the police forces in both Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar have launched search and rescue operations to find missing kids, coinciding with the Nobel Peace Prize for child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.
Officials of Childline, a child rights NGO that works under the Union ministry of woman and child development, said they had received around 300 rescue calls from child labourers from the district in the past eight months. But when the NGO recently wrote to the labour department to kickstart its rescue operations, it got no response. Officials of the NGO said since rescue operations are conducted jointly with them by the labour department and police, the former's lack of co-operation has slowed down the process.
"From February to October this year, we received around 300 calls from children in the district. Of these, we found around 150 children working in dhabas, factories and Noida residences," said Satya Prakash, manager at FXB India Suraksha-Childline.
District assistant labour commissioner Joshi said, "I will look into the matter. If the drive has not yet kicked off, we will start it from Monday.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Weekly-child-rescue-drive-govt-vowed-in-Sept-yet-to-start-NGO/articleshow/44928623.cms
In September, the Gautam Budh Nagar assistant labour commissioner M K Joshi had announced with great fanfare that his department had formed two teams to conduct rescue operations, one each in Noida and Greater Noida, every week. But it now appears that the initiative never kicked off.
Allegations of the labour department dragging its feet come at a time when the police forces in both Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar have launched search and rescue operations to find missing kids, coinciding with the Nobel Peace Prize for child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.
Officials of Childline, a child rights NGO that works under the Union ministry of woman and child development, said they had received around 300 rescue calls from child labourers from the district in the past eight months. But when the NGO recently wrote to the labour department to kickstart its rescue operations, it got no response. Officials of the NGO said since rescue operations are conducted jointly with them by the labour department and police, the former's lack of co-operation has slowed down the process.
"From February to October this year, we received around 300 calls from children in the district. Of these, we found around 150 children working in dhabas, factories and Noida residences," said Satya Prakash, manager at FXB India Suraksha-Childline.
District assistant labour commissioner Joshi said, "I will look into the matter. If the drive has not yet kicked off, we will start it from Monday.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Weekly-child-rescue-drive-govt-vowed-in-Sept-yet-to-start-NGO/articleshow/44928623.cms
Contributions to Swach Bharat Kosh come under CSR ambit
Contributions made by corporates towards Swach BharatKosh and Clean Ganga Fund will be considered as social welfare spending under the new companies law, according to the government.
Swach Bharat Kosh and Clean Ganga Fund are among the key initiatives unveiled by the Narendra Modi-led government as part of its efforts to ensure cleanliness.
While Swach Bharat Kosh is to attract funds for works to improve sanitation facilities, the Clean Ganga Fund is for pooling money to be used for cleaning up Ganga river.
Certain class of profitable companies are required to shell out at least two per cent of their three-year average annual net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. The provision, which is part of the new Companies Act, came into force from April 1.
The Corporate Affairs Ministry, which is implementing the new companies law, has now brought contributions to Swach Bharat Kosh and Clean Ganga Fund under the CSR ambit.
In a notification today, the Ministry has inserted the words 'including contribution to the Swach Bharat Kosh set up by the central government for the promotion of sanitation" in Schedule VII of the Act.
Besides, the words "including contribution to the Clean Ganga Fund set up by the central government for rejuvenation of river Ganga" have been inserted in the Schedule.
Schedule VII of Companies Act, 2013, pertains to CSR activities.
During the day, Modi -- whose government has embarked on a major drive to ensure cleanliness -- tweeted about the topic.
"Several friends told me that a lot of people cleaned the areas where they burst crackers during Diwali. I congratulate them for the efforts," he said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, as per the new companies law, CSR norms would be applicable to companies having at least Rs 5 crore net profit, or Rs 1,000 crore turnover or Rs 500 crore net worth.
Such companies would need to spend two per cent of their three-year average annual net profit on CSR activities in each financial year, beginning 2014-15 fiscal.
Livelihood enhancement and rural development projects, working towards protection of national heritage, setting up public libraries, promotion and development of traditional arts and handicrafts, are among the activities coming under CSR ambit.
Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/contributions-to-swach-bharat-kosh-come-under-csr-ambit-114102400913_1.html
Swach Bharat Kosh and Clean Ganga Fund are among the key initiatives unveiled by the Narendra Modi-led government as part of its efforts to ensure cleanliness.
While Swach Bharat Kosh is to attract funds for works to improve sanitation facilities, the Clean Ganga Fund is for pooling money to be used for cleaning up Ganga river.
Certain class of profitable companies are required to shell out at least two per cent of their three-year average annual net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. The provision, which is part of the new Companies Act, came into force from April 1.
The Corporate Affairs Ministry, which is implementing the new companies law, has now brought contributions to Swach Bharat Kosh and Clean Ganga Fund under the CSR ambit.
In a notification today, the Ministry has inserted the words 'including contribution to the Swach Bharat Kosh set up by the central government for the promotion of sanitation" in Schedule VII of the Act.
Besides, the words "including contribution to the Clean Ganga Fund set up by the central government for rejuvenation of river Ganga" have been inserted in the Schedule.
Schedule VII of Companies Act, 2013, pertains to CSR activities.
During the day, Modi -- whose government has embarked on a major drive to ensure cleanliness -- tweeted about the topic.
"Several friends told me that a lot of people cleaned the areas where they burst crackers during Diwali. I congratulate them for the efforts," he said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, as per the new companies law, CSR norms would be applicable to companies having at least Rs 5 crore net profit, or Rs 1,000 crore turnover or Rs 500 crore net worth.
Such companies would need to spend two per cent of their three-year average annual net profit on CSR activities in each financial year, beginning 2014-15 fiscal.
Livelihood enhancement and rural development projects, working towards protection of national heritage, setting up public libraries, promotion and development of traditional arts and handicrafts, are among the activities coming under CSR ambit.
Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/contributions-to-swach-bharat-kosh-come-under-csr-ambit-114102400913_1.html
India Inc makes a slow start on CSR
October 24, 2014:
For India Inc, the season of giving has begun. The new Companies Act requires corporates to spend 2 per cent of their profits on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. But six months since the Rules took effect, many corporates are still grappling with structuring and implementation.
Big issue for small firms
For smaller companies embarking on CSR, structuring the activity isn’t easy as it involves overheads and compliance costs. Large companies, on the other hand, often have foundations or trusts in place to channel CSR initiatives. So, small and medium companies are either looking to undertake short-term CSR activities in-house by appointing designated employees or using third-party implementing agencies, says Anand Mehta, Partner, Khaitan & Co.
If that proves difficult, donating to the PM’s Relief Fund is an easy option. “Certain smaller companies have been fulfilling CSR obligations by making donations to the PM’s Relief Fund, thereby avoiding overhead and compliance costs,” he notes.
Many first-time implementers are also looking to pool resources that they plan to hand over to NGOs, which will implement the actual initiatives. Government regulations allow pooling of CSR funds to achieve scale. With an estimated 8,500 companies falling under the minimum CSR spend mandate, a large pool of money is going to be generated, making NGOs keen to engage.
“Non-profits are looking to tap into the CSR spends of first-time companies and small and medium enterprises. These companies do not have specialist teams and will, therefore, find it difficult to plan and monitor the spending,” says Atul Raja, Executive Vice-President, Marketing, Wadhwani Foundation. He notes that corporates are also demanding more professionalism and better disclosure standards from the NGO sector.
Business as usual
While small companies are searching for effective solutions, CSR seems to be business-as-usual for some larger firms. For instance, mining major Sesa Sterlite, along with its group companies, brought in nearly ₹300 crore in 2013-14, says Roma Balwani, President, Sustainability and CSR, Vedanta Group. “Our CSR initiatives are implemented in the local communities by a team of over 200 people, through public private partnership programmes”. While the company has been socially active in the communities where it operates, to comply with the new rules, a board-level CSR committee has now been constituted.
Companies seek to create an immediate or visible impact that can be strong talk-points in communicating with external stakeholders, notes Raja. The lion’s share of spends may thus go to education, health, community development and environment.
Lingering issues
Given that they aren’t confident of deploying the entire 2 per cent in the first year, companies are also worried about the consequences of non-compliance.
The Companies Act, 2013 requires companies to report if the mandated CSR expense is not incurred in a given fiscal year. The CSR panel has to submit an explanation for non-compliance in the directors’ report. But it is not clear if penalties will be imposed in the event of failure to meet CSR obligations.
(This article was published on October 24, 2014)
Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/india-inc-makes-a-slow-start-on-csr/article6530804.ece
For India Inc, the season of giving has begun. The new Companies Act requires corporates to spend 2 per cent of their profits on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. But six months since the Rules took effect, many corporates are still grappling with structuring and implementation.
Big issue for small firms
For smaller companies embarking on CSR, structuring the activity isn’t easy as it involves overheads and compliance costs. Large companies, on the other hand, often have foundations or trusts in place to channel CSR initiatives. So, small and medium companies are either looking to undertake short-term CSR activities in-house by appointing designated employees or using third-party implementing agencies, says Anand Mehta, Partner, Khaitan & Co.
If that proves difficult, donating to the PM’s Relief Fund is an easy option. “Certain smaller companies have been fulfilling CSR obligations by making donations to the PM’s Relief Fund, thereby avoiding overhead and compliance costs,” he notes.
Many first-time implementers are also looking to pool resources that they plan to hand over to NGOs, which will implement the actual initiatives. Government regulations allow pooling of CSR funds to achieve scale. With an estimated 8,500 companies falling under the minimum CSR spend mandate, a large pool of money is going to be generated, making NGOs keen to engage.
“Non-profits are looking to tap into the CSR spends of first-time companies and small and medium enterprises. These companies do not have specialist teams and will, therefore, find it difficult to plan and monitor the spending,” says Atul Raja, Executive Vice-President, Marketing, Wadhwani Foundation. He notes that corporates are also demanding more professionalism and better disclosure standards from the NGO sector.
Business as usual
While small companies are searching for effective solutions, CSR seems to be business-as-usual for some larger firms. For instance, mining major Sesa Sterlite, along with its group companies, brought in nearly ₹300 crore in 2013-14, says Roma Balwani, President, Sustainability and CSR, Vedanta Group. “Our CSR initiatives are implemented in the local communities by a team of over 200 people, through public private partnership programmes”. While the company has been socially active in the communities where it operates, to comply with the new rules, a board-level CSR committee has now been constituted.
Companies seek to create an immediate or visible impact that can be strong talk-points in communicating with external stakeholders, notes Raja. The lion’s share of spends may thus go to education, health, community development and environment.
Lingering issues
Given that they aren’t confident of deploying the entire 2 per cent in the first year, companies are also worried about the consequences of non-compliance.
The Companies Act, 2013 requires companies to report if the mandated CSR expense is not incurred in a given fiscal year. The CSR panel has to submit an explanation for non-compliance in the directors’ report. But it is not clear if penalties will be imposed in the event of failure to meet CSR obligations.
(This article was published on October 24, 2014)
Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/india-inc-makes-a-slow-start-on-csr/article6530804.ece
Friday, October 24, 2014
Employment Facilitation Portal of MSME, Government of India
Employment Facilitation Portal of MSME, Government of India
http://www.niesbudnaukri.com
• Set up by NIESBUD was launched by the Minister (MSME) on 11th July, 2014. So far 10134 youth seeking jobs and 179 employers have been registered.
Indian Youths requested to register themselves at: http://www.niesbudnaukri.com for a Job
http://www.niesbudnaukri.com
• Set up by NIESBUD was launched by the Minister (MSME) on 11th July, 2014. So far 10134 youth seeking jobs and 179 employers have been registered.
Indian Youths requested to register themselves at: http://www.niesbudnaukri.com for a Job
Industry-Academia Facilitation Portal of MSME, Government of India
Virtual Cluster (www.msmsecluster.in) for Industry-Academia Linkages. So far 86 Domain experts, 125 academic institutions and 18,341 MSME enterprises have registered onto the platform.
Foundations and International Grantors:
Asia / Pacific
· AUSAID
Fund activities that alleviate poverty in a direct and tangible way.
Themes: Gender, Human Rights, Rural Development, Education, Health HIV/AIDS, Millennuim Development Goals
Regions: Africa, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Caribbean and Middle East
Website: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/ngos/funding.cfm
· Dalit Foundation
Grants and Fellowships for strengthening the Dalit movement in India
Themes: Dalit empowerment and justice
Country: India
Website: http://www.dalitfoundation.org/
· Fund for Women in Asia
FWAsia is determined to help bring about social change in how women and girls are valued in their communities.
Themes: Social Change, Collectivity
Region: Asia
Website: http://www.fundwomenasia.org
· International Women's Development Agency
An Australian non-profit organization that creates positive change for women and their communities through practical and rights-based projects directly address poverty and oppression in developing countries.
Themes: Livelihood and economic empowerment; safety and security; social, physical and mental health; education; environmental sustainability and civil and political participation.
Region: Asia Pacific
Website: http://www.iwda.org.au
· Oxfam Australia
Oxfam Australia is part of a global movement of dedicated people working hard to fight poverty and injustice.
Themes: Emergencies, Gender, Youth, Indigenous Rights and HIV/AIDS
Regions: East Asia, South Asia, Southern Africa, Pacific, and Indigenous Australia
Website: http://www.oxfam.org.au/
· UU Holdeen India Program
The Unitarian Universalist Holdeen India Program (UUHIP) works with organizations of India's most excluded and oppressed peoples: women; dalits, who fall outside the caste system; and the adivasis or tribals who are India's indigenous peoples, especially migrant, bonded and landless agricultural laborers. UUHIP supports their efforts to participate fully in the social, economic and political life of India.
Themes: Increase marginalized groups’ organized strength and self-reliance; gain access to productive resources, services, and opportunities; increase their livelihoods, assets, economic independence, and social security; influence government policies, laws, and budgets in their favor; challenge discriminatory social practices; and build, manage, and control their own institutions, programs, and resources.
Country: India
Website: http://www.uua.org/aboutus/professionalstaff/advocacywitness/holdeenindia/index.php
· AUSAID
Fund activities that alleviate poverty in a direct and tangible way.
Themes: Gender, Human Rights, Rural Development, Education, Health HIV/AIDS, Millennuim Development Goals
Regions: Africa, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Caribbean and Middle East
Website: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/ngos/funding.cfm
· Dalit Foundation
Grants and Fellowships for strengthening the Dalit movement in India
Themes: Dalit empowerment and justice
Country: India
Website: http://www.dalitfoundation.org/
· Fund for Women in Asia
FWAsia is determined to help bring about social change in how women and girls are valued in their communities.
Themes: Social Change, Collectivity
Region: Asia
Website: http://www.fundwomenasia.org
· International Women's Development Agency
An Australian non-profit organization that creates positive change for women and their communities through practical and rights-based projects directly address poverty and oppression in developing countries.
Themes: Livelihood and economic empowerment; safety and security; social, physical and mental health; education; environmental sustainability and civil and political participation.
Region: Asia Pacific
Website: http://www.iwda.org.au
· Oxfam Australia
Oxfam Australia is part of a global movement of dedicated people working hard to fight poverty and injustice.
Themes: Emergencies, Gender, Youth, Indigenous Rights and HIV/AIDS
Regions: East Asia, South Asia, Southern Africa, Pacific, and Indigenous Australia
Website: http://www.oxfam.org.au/
· UU Holdeen India Program
The Unitarian Universalist Holdeen India Program (UUHIP) works with organizations of India's most excluded and oppressed peoples: women; dalits, who fall outside the caste system; and the adivasis or tribals who are India's indigenous peoples, especially migrant, bonded and landless agricultural laborers. UUHIP supports their efforts to participate fully in the social, economic and political life of India.
Themes: Increase marginalized groups’ organized strength and self-reliance; gain access to productive resources, services, and opportunities; increase their livelihoods, assets, economic independence, and social security; influence government policies, laws, and budgets in their favor; challenge discriminatory social practices; and build, manage, and control their own institutions, programs, and resources.
Country: India
Website: http://www.uua.org/aboutus/professionalstaff/advocacywitness/holdeenindia/index.php
Fewer bird injuries this Diwali, says NGO
Awareness drives pay off, but cruelty cases continue
the wing of an owl injured by firecrackers at the animal hospital in Parel, on Thursday Swapnil Sakhare DNA
For animal activists, Diwali is a difficult time when they receive countless cases ofanimals getting injured, accidentally or intentionally, by fireworks, or running away from their homes out of fear due to the noise pollution that is characteristic of the festival.
This year too, like every year, they spreadawareness about the adverse way noisy crackers affect animals. They spoke to children, approached police stations, and even spread messages through Facebook and Whatsapp to alert citizens to report any cruelty and missing cases. Their efforts, coupled with the hiked prices of fire crackers seem to have paid off. TheBombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA) at Parel said there was a 25% dip in the number of bird injuries reported to its hospital.
Dr J C Khanna, secretary-officer in-charge of the BSPCA hospital, said, "The number of injured birds and animals being brought in during Diwali has come down since 2010. As compared to last year, the number of bird injury cases reported to us has come down by 25 per cent. Usually, several injured kites, sparrows, pigeons are brought to us during this period. This time, in these three days, we received 18 birds. Sometimes children tie fire crackers to the tails of dogs, cats and goats. We haven't got such cases yet. It is all due to the awareness spread about the importance of an eco-friendly Diwali and the price of fire crackers going up."
Omkar Rane, who is a part of the rescue operation squad of NGO Shram, said, "Yesterday (Wednesday) I got a call to rescue a baby house sparrow which fell from a tree. One dog also went missing from Juhu due to the noise of crackers. It is true that the calls received are fewer this year. Maybe it is because of the awareness drives."
However, Ganesh Nayak, founder of NGO Animals Matter to Me, said there was still a lot of work to be as cruelty cases were still coming. "During the 10 days before Diwali, we got at least 6 injury cases, while 10 to 12 dogs went missing from their home and areas. We do spread awareness among school children, but cruelty on animals is still very much prevalent. When we go to police station to file cases of animal cruelty, they prioritise human over animals. Yesterday night itself I found a dog with severe injuries on its neck, which was tied with ropes and bottles used to burst firecrackers."
If you spot an injured animal, call:
BSPCA: 24137518/5285
Shram's rescue operation squad: 9619933223
Animals Matter to Me: 9820335799
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-fewer-bird-injuries-this-diwali-says-ngo-2028755
the wing of an owl injured by firecrackers at the animal hospital in Parel, on Thursday Swapnil Sakhare DNA
For animal activists, Diwali is a difficult time when they receive countless cases ofanimals getting injured, accidentally or intentionally, by fireworks, or running away from their homes out of fear due to the noise pollution that is characteristic of the festival.
This year too, like every year, they spreadawareness about the adverse way noisy crackers affect animals. They spoke to children, approached police stations, and even spread messages through Facebook and Whatsapp to alert citizens to report any cruelty and missing cases. Their efforts, coupled with the hiked prices of fire crackers seem to have paid off. TheBombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA) at Parel said there was a 25% dip in the number of bird injuries reported to its hospital.
Dr J C Khanna, secretary-officer in-charge of the BSPCA hospital, said, "The number of injured birds and animals being brought in during Diwali has come down since 2010. As compared to last year, the number of bird injury cases reported to us has come down by 25 per cent. Usually, several injured kites, sparrows, pigeons are brought to us during this period. This time, in these three days, we received 18 birds. Sometimes children tie fire crackers to the tails of dogs, cats and goats. We haven't got such cases yet. It is all due to the awareness spread about the importance of an eco-friendly Diwali and the price of fire crackers going up."
Omkar Rane, who is a part of the rescue operation squad of NGO Shram, said, "Yesterday (Wednesday) I got a call to rescue a baby house sparrow which fell from a tree. One dog also went missing from Juhu due to the noise of crackers. It is true that the calls received are fewer this year. Maybe it is because of the awareness drives."
However, Ganesh Nayak, founder of NGO Animals Matter to Me, said there was still a lot of work to be as cruelty cases were still coming. "During the 10 days before Diwali, we got at least 6 injury cases, while 10 to 12 dogs went missing from their home and areas. We do spread awareness among school children, but cruelty on animals is still very much prevalent. When we go to police station to file cases of animal cruelty, they prioritise human over animals. Yesterday night itself I found a dog with severe injuries on its neck, which was tied with ropes and bottles used to burst firecrackers."
If you spot an injured animal, call:
BSPCA: 24137518/5285
Shram's rescue operation squad: 9619933223
Animals Matter to Me: 9820335799
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-fewer-bird-injuries-this-diwali-says-ngo-2028755
NGOs demand following of protocol while handling complaints by women
The women’s groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Goa have put forward for early implementation a standard protocol to be followed by police while handling cases of women.
The protocol has been put forward to police following growing concerns that women victims were unwilling to approach police stations with their grievances for variety of reasons.
In case of sexual violence, the protocol demands registration of FIR immediately. It warns police to desist from making any comments or asking unnecessary questions. Sufficient staff should also be available to cut-out delay in procedures. Medical examinations should take place as soon as possible.
As regards to complaints of sexual violence made by a woman victim, the protocol demands that the police station must make available a copy of the medical report to the victim along with the FIR.
It insists that counselling support should be provided to the victim to prepare her for various procedures to be followed after filing the complaint.
While an NGO is called for recording statement, the follow-up by the NGOs in these matters is thwarted. The victims should be referred to counsellors/supporting organisations.
Ms. Sabina Martins of Bailanchao Saad told The Hindu on Thursday that they had meetings with senior police officials recently over women’s complaints, where they have submitted a list of general protocol in regard to complaints of women and specific protocol to be followed as regards complaints of trafficking, domestic violence, begging , kidnapping ,etc., apart from complaints of sex violence.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/ngos-demand-following-of-protocol-while-handling-complaints-by-women/article6527667.ece
The protocol has been put forward to police following growing concerns that women victims were unwilling to approach police stations with their grievances for variety of reasons.
In case of sexual violence, the protocol demands registration of FIR immediately. It warns police to desist from making any comments or asking unnecessary questions. Sufficient staff should also be available to cut-out delay in procedures. Medical examinations should take place as soon as possible.
As regards to complaints of sexual violence made by a woman victim, the protocol demands that the police station must make available a copy of the medical report to the victim along with the FIR.
It insists that counselling support should be provided to the victim to prepare her for various procedures to be followed after filing the complaint.
While an NGO is called for recording statement, the follow-up by the NGOs in these matters is thwarted. The victims should be referred to counsellors/supporting organisations.
Ms. Sabina Martins of Bailanchao Saad told The Hindu on Thursday that they had meetings with senior police officials recently over women’s complaints, where they have submitted a list of general protocol in regard to complaints of women and specific protocol to be followed as regards complaints of trafficking, domestic violence, begging , kidnapping ,etc., apart from complaints of sex violence.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/ngos-demand-following-of-protocol-while-handling-complaints-by-women/article6527667.ece
India Sanitation & Toilet Summit to be Held in Delhi on 6 Feb 2015
New Delhi: Addressing the increasing importance of hygiene, health, sanitation, and toilet related issues, the India Toilet Summit 2015 ‘Sanitation for All – Toilet First’ will take place on February 6, 2015 at Lakshmipat Singhania Auditorium, PHD Chamber House, 4/2 Siri Institutional Area, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi.
Contact: conference@indiacsr.in or 9981099555. for more detail log on http://www.indiasanitationsummit.indiacsr.in
Contact: conference@indiacsr.in or 9981099555. for more detail log on http://www.indiasanitationsummit.indiacsr.in
The Summit would provide a forum to initiate a dialogue and enlighten the delegates on various issues related to sanitation, toilet movement, woman empowerment, women dignity and girl child education etc. India Sanitation Summit Sanitation for All Toilet First 6 Feb 2015 New DelhiIt is projected to connect with different types of stakeholders to discuss and share ideas, knowledge and innovations in the area of toilet technology and sanitation as well as different project and developmental works that are going on in India from which people can benefit from the humble toilet. The summit is a unique national level forum established by the IndiaCSR Group to bring together various sanitation stakeholders under a roof to connect and collaborate on innovative inventions, projects and products in the toilet and sanitation sector in our country. Kindly visit http://www.indiasanitationsummit.indiacsr.in
“The summit is very much aligned to ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ (Clean India Initiative) of our visionary Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s. We have decided to be an active participant of this noble Mission to support in creating national level forum to discuss various issues connected to the Toilet and Sanitation, health and education. We believe that the summit would highlight the problems allied with a lack of toilets and would also adopt resolutions to achieve Nation sanitation goals.”,
Rusen Kumar added. “Keeping in view the winter session of parliament followed by Christmas in December 2014, we had to reschedule the ‘Sanitation for All: Toilet First’ Summit of Sanitation and Toilet issues from 18 Dec’ 2014 to 6 Feb’ (Friday), 2015.”, Rusen Kumar, Director, IndiaCSR informed. “Rescheduling of the summit was decided looking into the interest of larger no of participants. Those who have already registered for the summit will not have to resister once again because of rescheduling of the event.”, he added. “The organizing team on behalf of IndiaCSR group apologizes for any inconvenience caused due to rescheduling of the event. Any update on the summit, shall be intimated to the participants through e-mail from time to time.”, Rusen Kumar said. Toilet is prime agenda of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. On the occasion of Independence Day, in his speech Shri Narendra Modi ones again stressed that toilet is ‘dignity of woman’. In his first address to nation Narendra Modi urged parliamentarians and the corporate sector to help build separate toilets for girls in schools across the country by next year. Forum for toilet technology providers By establishing a national level platform for toilet technology providers, infrastructure manufactures, innovators, associations, non-profit organizations, public sector entities and private sector stakeholders to present a plan and share best practices in the sanitation sector, the India Toilet Summit aims to empower participants, exhibitors and sponsors to exchange knowledge, expertise and resources in scaling up impact and innovation in the sanitation marketplace particularly in India.
The ‘India Sanitation & Toilet Summit’ is designed for decision and policy makers in government, business and nonprofit sectors. The Summit is aimed at those all who wish to update themselves with recent trends and how developments, understand how various organizations are applying the innovative ideas in the area of sanitation and toilet in the country. 30 Speakers, 200 Participants The India Toilet Summit involves some of the most reputable and competent national and world renowned speakers from government and private sectors, research agencies, innovators, social and though leaders dealing in sanitation and toiletries industries in the country. There will be 30 speakers and 200 participants projected in this exclusive summit. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan from Valmiki Basti in New Delhi on 2nd October 2014, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The Prime Minister asked citizens to change their mindsets as cleaning is not only the responsibility of safai karamcharis. The ambitious drive includes sweeping, removal of garbage, debris and unauthorised encroachments from the roads, markets and residential places. The campaign is aimed at making India a clean country by 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The Prime Minister on Independence Day made a clarion call for Swachh Bharat, a massive mass movement to create awareness of cleanliness and hygiene. He said that a clean India is the best tribute that we can pay to Mahatma Gandhi when we celebrate his 150th birth anniversary in 2019.
- See more at: http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=54445#sthash.k87oXUUj.dpuf
- See more at: http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=54445#sthash.k87oXUUj.dpuf
Khadi Clusters Under Sfurti Scheme
LOK SABHA
The Government has launched the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) for development of around 100 clusters from khadi, village and coir sectors with a total plan outlay of Rs. 97.25 crore. The Scheme envisages need-based assistance for replacement of production equipment, setting up of common facility centres (CFC), product development, quality improvement, improved marketing, training and capacity building, etc. 118 clusters (33 from khadi, 59 from Village Industries and 26 from coir) have been approved for their development under this scheme.
Under SFURTI, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (erstwhile Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries) does not receive any proposals directly from State/UT Governments. The cluster development proposals are received by the Nodal Agencies, i.e. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and Coir Board from Khadi Institutions, NGOs, institutions of the Central and State Governments and semi Government institutions with the consent of the State Governments. After examining the proposal, the same are forwarded by the Nodal Agency to the Scheme Steering Committee of SFURTI for consideration.
This information was given by the Minister of Small Scale Industries and Agro & Rural Industries, Shri Mahabir Prasad in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
*****
MG/SR
(Release ID :35933)
The Government has launched the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) for development of around 100 clusters from khadi, village and coir sectors with a total plan outlay of Rs. 97.25 crore. The Scheme envisages need-based assistance for replacement of production equipment, setting up of common facility centres (CFC), product development, quality improvement, improved marketing, training and capacity building, etc. 118 clusters (33 from khadi, 59 from Village Industries and 26 from coir) have been approved for their development under this scheme.
Under SFURTI, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (erstwhile Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries) does not receive any proposals directly from State/UT Governments. The cluster development proposals are received by the Nodal Agencies, i.e. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and Coir Board from Khadi Institutions, NGOs, institutions of the Central and State Governments and semi Government institutions with the consent of the State Governments. After examining the proposal, the same are forwarded by the Nodal Agency to the Scheme Steering Committee of SFURTI for consideration.
This information was given by the Minister of Small Scale Industries and Agro & Rural Industries, Shri Mahabir Prasad in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
*****
MG/SR
(Release ID :35933)
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Ngo Services For Implementation Of Resettlement Action Plan
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Name of the Project: Uttar Pradesh Core Road Network Development Project (UPCRNDP)
Loan No./Credit No./ Grant No.: Appliedfor
Assignment Title: NGO Services for Implementationof Resettlement Action Plan
The Government of Uttar Pradesh has applied through Government of India forfinancing from theWorld Bank toward the cost of the Uttar Pradesh Core Road Network Development Project,and intends to apply part of the proceeds for above consulting services.
The Chief Engineer,World Bank Projects (Roads),U.P., P.W.D now invites eligible NGOs to indicate theirinterest in providing the Services. Interested NGOs should provide information demonstrating that they have the requiredqualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. The shortlisting criteria are as following:
1. The NGO must have been registered before year 2010.
2. Must have carried out NGO services for implementation of resettlement action plan of at least one linear project (state ornational Highway or railways or transmission lines Project) or more funded by multilateral funding agency.
3. Must have carried out at least one rural development project in Uttar Pradesh in last fiveyears.
4. Number of in-house Social Development Specialists
5. Turn over must be atleast 50 lakhs
There should not be Conflict among consultingassignments as per paragraph 1.9 ofConsultant Guidelines.
NGO will be selectedin accordance with the Selection Based on least cost basis method set out in the Consultant Guidelines.
Further information can be obtained at the address below during officehours i.e. 10:00 to 17:00 hours from 08.10.2014 to 05.11.2014 and Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form tothe same address (in person,or by mail, or by fax, or by e-mail) on 07.11.2014 at 16.00 hrs and the same shall be opened on07.11.2014 at 16.30 hrs.
Fax : 0522 ? 2236556
Source: http://www.worldbank.org/projects/procurement/noticeoverview?id=OP00029148&lang=en
Name of the Project: Uttar Pradesh Core Road Network Development Project (UPCRNDP)
Loan No./Credit No./ Grant No.: Appliedfor
Assignment Title: NGO Services for Implementationof Resettlement Action Plan
The Government of Uttar Pradesh has applied through Government of India forfinancing from theWorld Bank toward the cost of the Uttar Pradesh Core Road Network Development Project,and intends to apply part of the proceeds for above consulting services.
The Chief Engineer,World Bank Projects (Roads),U.P., P.W.D now invites eligible NGOs to indicate theirinterest in providing the Services. Interested NGOs should provide information demonstrating that they have the requiredqualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. The shortlisting criteria are as following:
1. The NGO must have been registered before year 2010.
2. Must have carried out NGO services for implementation of resettlement action plan of at least one linear project (state ornational Highway or railways or transmission lines Project) or more funded by multilateral funding agency.
3. Must have carried out at least one rural development project in Uttar Pradesh in last fiveyears.
4. Number of in-house Social Development Specialists
5. Turn over must be atleast 50 lakhs
There should not be Conflict among consultingassignments as per paragraph 1.9 ofConsultant Guidelines.
NGO will be selectedin accordance with the Selection Based on least cost basis method set out in the Consultant Guidelines.
Further information can be obtained at the address below during officehours i.e. 10:00 to 17:00 hours from 08.10.2014 to 05.11.2014 and Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form tothe same address (in person,or by mail, or by fax, or by e-mail) on 07.11.2014 at 16.00 hrs and the same shall be opened on07.11.2014 at 16.30 hrs.
Fax : 0522 ? 2236556
Source: http://www.worldbank.org/projects/procurement/noticeoverview?id=OP00029148&lang=en
The aid headache
Foreign funding of NGOs is a topic that never seems to lose currency. The Economist of September 19 reported that from Hungary to Azerbaijan; from Egypt to Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, Sudan and Venezuela, authoritarian governments have declared a war against civil society groups that use foreign money, allegedly to promote a “Western” vision of liberal democracy and human rights. Some have had their offices raided or funds confiscated. Ironically, even America has not been free of a bias against foreign funding and think tanks which receive foreign funds have faced official scrutiny. Still America has not banned foreign funds, but only requires recipients to be transparent. So Indian NGOs who have been at the receiving end of governmental wrath over receipt of foreign funds can take cold comfort from the fact that they are not alone.
While America does not really receive or need foreign funds on any scale, the other countries named, including India, do. Banning aid or harassing NGOs who receive it is no solution, because aid to NGOs has played a useful role in the development of many countries, despite some adverse effects. It is time therefore to weigh the benefits against the costs.
To take the good news first: Aid has brought more resources to the NGO sector than it could possibly have mobilised from within the country, enabling it to expand and diversify. It created a two-way channel for new ideas, methods and technologies from abroad, while simultaneously enabling Indian achievements to find their way into international development discourse. This international engagement has helped Indian NGOs mature and gain self-confidence. Aid has also supported research and its dissemination, alliance building and policy advocacy, which hardly any Indian donors support.
Importantly, it brought a much-needed focus, both in policy and practice, on equity issues, under-served sections of society such as women, the scheduled castes and adivasis and a focus on the environment. Many donor organisations work with constituencies like MNCs in their own countries and educate them about responsible corporate practices like education of exploited children, fair trade practices and the like.
But it is also true that aid to NGOs has had some adverse impact on the voluntary sector as well as on Indian society as a whole. But these are not necessarily to do with bringing in Western liberal ideas, conversion, contributing to delays in development projects, or with destabilising political regimes, as the government alleges.
In India and elsewhere, aid, especially in the initial years, led to diversions from a chosen development pattern. For instance, early aid with its emphasis on Western technological solutions sidelined the Gandhian approach of self-reliance, low-cost local technology and decentralised development as well as the more political social change model adopted by peasant and other social movements of the early Sixties and Seventies. Now the pendulum has swung to the other extreme, and donors are espousing decentralisation, small check dams and low cost irrigation while it is the government which is continuing to favour large dams.
Aid to NGOs also increased disparities among NGOs, between the smaller, more rural and less well-funded which depend on local charity, and the more prosperous, sophisticated and metro-based ones, many of them funded by foreign donors. This divide can be said to parallel the divide between Bharat and India. The funded organisations are modern organisations talking the language of projects, appraisals, core funding, monitoring and evaluation and with formal systems and procedures while the vast bulk of the NGOs continue to function in an ad hoc, informal manner. Moreover, the salary structure of foreign-funded NGOs distorted the local reward structure in the sector and is also unsustainable in the long run. But clearly the solution is to bring up Bharat to the level of India and the reverse, especially since with mandatory corporate social responsibility, these better organised NGOs are proving to be a boon to companies.
Perhaps the most tellingly adverse effect of aid on the voluntary sector has been the loss of political and social activism by NGOs due to “institutionalisation”. This received a fillip when, after the 1980s, donors increasingly preferred partnerships with NGOs over sending expensive expatriate experts to the field and setting up field offices. By itself institutionalisation is not bad. When NGOs move from being informal popular movements to adopting formal legal and organisational structures, it leads to greater permanence. But as they grow, there is a tendency for NGOs to become more flabby and less innovative. They settle into a “zone of comfort” doing routine work, and internal interests overshadow their critical role. Most importantly, as they become more organised they become more pragmatic, less fluid and less radical as social activists, in fact the very reverse of what government finds objectionable.
Another adverse effect is that NGOs become upwardly accountable to donors, rather than maintain a downward and lateral accountability to their beneficiary constituencies and peer organisations. Accountability has come to be equated with “accountancy” and legal compliance, because of tighter donor controls on use of funds.
Donor pressure has also led to privileging certain issues like HIV-AIDS of concern to Western nations, rather than the eradication of malaria or malnutrition, far more urgent national problems for India. However, with pressure from experts and NGOs, donors have begun to adopt Indian agendas.
In the initial years, it is undeniable that political agendas were at play. However, NGOs are more confident and less vulnerable to foreign pressures today. The sheer size of the country, the insignificance of external assistance relative to this size and need, government vigilance, strong indigenous roots of the voluntary sector in either the Gandhian or Leftist traditions, all ensure that the adverse effects of external political or religious agendas are not deeply felt.
The best way to deal with the excesses is when they occur, on a case-by-case basis, rather than banning aid or making it difficult for all NGOs to use foreign funds.
The writer is the author of Foreign Aid for Indian NGOs: Problem or Solution
Source: http://www.asianage.com/columnists/aid-headache-153
While America does not really receive or need foreign funds on any scale, the other countries named, including India, do. Banning aid or harassing NGOs who receive it is no solution, because aid to NGOs has played a useful role in the development of many countries, despite some adverse effects. It is time therefore to weigh the benefits against the costs.
To take the good news first: Aid has brought more resources to the NGO sector than it could possibly have mobilised from within the country, enabling it to expand and diversify. It created a two-way channel for new ideas, methods and technologies from abroad, while simultaneously enabling Indian achievements to find their way into international development discourse. This international engagement has helped Indian NGOs mature and gain self-confidence. Aid has also supported research and its dissemination, alliance building and policy advocacy, which hardly any Indian donors support.
Importantly, it brought a much-needed focus, both in policy and practice, on equity issues, under-served sections of society such as women, the scheduled castes and adivasis and a focus on the environment. Many donor organisations work with constituencies like MNCs in their own countries and educate them about responsible corporate practices like education of exploited children, fair trade practices and the like.
But it is also true that aid to NGOs has had some adverse impact on the voluntary sector as well as on Indian society as a whole. But these are not necessarily to do with bringing in Western liberal ideas, conversion, contributing to delays in development projects, or with destabilising political regimes, as the government alleges.
In India and elsewhere, aid, especially in the initial years, led to diversions from a chosen development pattern. For instance, early aid with its emphasis on Western technological solutions sidelined the Gandhian approach of self-reliance, low-cost local technology and decentralised development as well as the more political social change model adopted by peasant and other social movements of the early Sixties and Seventies. Now the pendulum has swung to the other extreme, and donors are espousing decentralisation, small check dams and low cost irrigation while it is the government which is continuing to favour large dams.
Aid to NGOs also increased disparities among NGOs, between the smaller, more rural and less well-funded which depend on local charity, and the more prosperous, sophisticated and metro-based ones, many of them funded by foreign donors. This divide can be said to parallel the divide between Bharat and India. The funded organisations are modern organisations talking the language of projects, appraisals, core funding, monitoring and evaluation and with formal systems and procedures while the vast bulk of the NGOs continue to function in an ad hoc, informal manner. Moreover, the salary structure of foreign-funded NGOs distorted the local reward structure in the sector and is also unsustainable in the long run. But clearly the solution is to bring up Bharat to the level of India and the reverse, especially since with mandatory corporate social responsibility, these better organised NGOs are proving to be a boon to companies.
Perhaps the most tellingly adverse effect of aid on the voluntary sector has been the loss of political and social activism by NGOs due to “institutionalisation”. This received a fillip when, after the 1980s, donors increasingly preferred partnerships with NGOs over sending expensive expatriate experts to the field and setting up field offices. By itself institutionalisation is not bad. When NGOs move from being informal popular movements to adopting formal legal and organisational structures, it leads to greater permanence. But as they grow, there is a tendency for NGOs to become more flabby and less innovative. They settle into a “zone of comfort” doing routine work, and internal interests overshadow their critical role. Most importantly, as they become more organised they become more pragmatic, less fluid and less radical as social activists, in fact the very reverse of what government finds objectionable.
Another adverse effect is that NGOs become upwardly accountable to donors, rather than maintain a downward and lateral accountability to their beneficiary constituencies and peer organisations. Accountability has come to be equated with “accountancy” and legal compliance, because of tighter donor controls on use of funds.
Donor pressure has also led to privileging certain issues like HIV-AIDS of concern to Western nations, rather than the eradication of malaria or malnutrition, far more urgent national problems for India. However, with pressure from experts and NGOs, donors have begun to adopt Indian agendas.
In the initial years, it is undeniable that political agendas were at play. However, NGOs are more confident and less vulnerable to foreign pressures today. The sheer size of the country, the insignificance of external assistance relative to this size and need, government vigilance, strong indigenous roots of the voluntary sector in either the Gandhian or Leftist traditions, all ensure that the adverse effects of external political or religious agendas are not deeply felt.
The best way to deal with the excesses is when they occur, on a case-by-case basis, rather than banning aid or making it difficult for all NGOs to use foreign funds.
The writer is the author of Foreign Aid for Indian NGOs: Problem or Solution
Source: http://www.asianage.com/columnists/aid-headache-153
Engaging the private sector: 10 lessons for NGOs
At CSR Asia over the last couple of years we have found ourselves working with a number of NGOs, helping them with their private sector engagement strategies. With dwindling resources from governments, NGOs are looking for resources elsewhere. But our starting point is always to say to NGOs that if they are looking for easy financial handouts from the private sector, they may well be wasting their time and if a fruitful relationship with a business is to be developed it needs a proper strategy of engagement.
Therefore, in this week’s article I am suggesting my top ten tips for NGOs that want to engage with business and ways in which NGOs can develop partnerships to meet shared objectives:
1. Make a compelling business case: Too many NGOs who care about their causes have an “entitlement mentality” and feel that the private sector simply “ought” to support them. With competing demands and limited resources, this is not the case. The private sector will need to be convinced of the benefits of engaging with NGOs. The most strategic thinking businesses will want to see a link to their core business, the involvement of some of their staff and reputational benefits for their business. Businesses will be more likely to support projects that are aligned with their own values and the interests of their workers.
2. Match assets and expertise (not just money): Businesses are more interested in projects where they can use their own assets, expertise and skills rather than simply writing a cheque. Traditional philanthropy has a role to play, but sophisticated businesses are looking for more. They have other resources that they might usefully contribute including staff time, expertise, knowledge, products and services, management skills and even influence. Going to a company with a package of opportunities rather than a request for funding is more likely to be successful.
3. Include volunteering opportunities: Companies are increasingly looking at ways in which to engage their staff in innovative initiatives that will help with team-building, increase staff satisfaction, personal development opportunities and loyalty. Many staff now look for wider aspects of satisfaction from their employers and therefore NGOs need to look at the ways in which they can use staff time, skills and knowledge to contribute to meeting objectives in ways that excite and engage people. In the private sector, there is a rapidly growing interest in skills-based volunteering where members of staff can contribute their particular expertise and knowledge to a project so think about what can be leverages from people other than just time.
4. Differentiate your offering from others: It is easy to do the easy stuff, but doing the same as everyone else is not going to get a company noticed. NGOs need to offer companies opportunities for engagement that are innovative and “stand out” from the crowd. The more common a project, the less likely it is going to give the business the reputational benefits that they want to achieve. Approach businesses with innovative ideas to address your objectives with will be original and will get noticed.
5. Be clear about timescales: There is often a mismatch between what NGOs and businesses consider to be a long term commitment. Many NGOs working on development agendas will often talk about 10 year plans, yet for the private sector, even a commitment to a three year project is seen as pretty long. Businesses want to see results fast and sometimes that is difficult to achieve, but at least there is a need to be clear about time frames to avoid unrealistic expectations from businesses. Companies are increasingly used to reporting on their social responsibility on an annual basis and that means they need to have something new and significant to say at least once every 12 months. Help them to tell an interesting “story”.
6. Be clear about what the different partners bring: An effective partnership is likely to bring together different resources, expertise, knowledge, time and commitment. It is important from the outset to be clear who does what and when. Partnerships often fail because of differing expectations on both sides of the relationship and this therefore needs to be carefully planned from the outset and monitored as the project progresses.
7. Make sure that projects resonate with employees: Companies often want to get their staff involved in projects and the NGO will benefit from that staff time and expertise. Yet unless a project actually resonates with staff they are unlikely to engage enthusiastically. Requiring staff to volunteer is a stupid (but all too common) strategy by some businesses that results in animosity and creates negative impacts for the NGO. Be sure, therefore, that any project really does have a cohort of willing, able and enthusiastic staff members that are genuinely interested in being part of it.
8. Meet a social or environmental need that is clearly articulated: Too many NGOs are simply looking for general funding to support their operations. This will not attract the private sector. Businesses want to understand exactly what they are supporting and what the outputs and outcomes of that support are likely to be. Businesses and their staff want to see that they have made a clearly identifiable difference that they can talk about. Thus it is important to identify the specific needs that a project seeks to address and to identify the ways in which meeting such needs can be verified.
9. Measure impacts: Ultimately, we only know if a project has really made a difference if we are able to measure its impacts. Whilst this is not always easy, ensuring that a project does have a positive impact is likely to cement a partnership and take it forward into a longer term relationship. Businesses will want evidence that the different types of resources that they have provided have made an identifiable and measureable impact. In any project planning there needs to be a methodology for assessing impact.
10. Communicate success: There is increasing pressure on businesses to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility and disclose the initiatives that they have been involved with along with their impacts. NGOs can therefore play a key role in helping companies to report and communicate their initiatives. NGO support, testimonials and even the link to the NGO brand can help the company to demonstrate its corporate commitments to a wide stakeholder base.
Source: http://csr-asia.com/csr-asia-weekly-news-detail.php?id=12427
Therefore, in this week’s article I am suggesting my top ten tips for NGOs that want to engage with business and ways in which NGOs can develop partnerships to meet shared objectives:
1. Make a compelling business case: Too many NGOs who care about their causes have an “entitlement mentality” and feel that the private sector simply “ought” to support them. With competing demands and limited resources, this is not the case. The private sector will need to be convinced of the benefits of engaging with NGOs. The most strategic thinking businesses will want to see a link to their core business, the involvement of some of their staff and reputational benefits for their business. Businesses will be more likely to support projects that are aligned with their own values and the interests of their workers.
2. Match assets and expertise (not just money): Businesses are more interested in projects where they can use their own assets, expertise and skills rather than simply writing a cheque. Traditional philanthropy has a role to play, but sophisticated businesses are looking for more. They have other resources that they might usefully contribute including staff time, expertise, knowledge, products and services, management skills and even influence. Going to a company with a package of opportunities rather than a request for funding is more likely to be successful.
3. Include volunteering opportunities: Companies are increasingly looking at ways in which to engage their staff in innovative initiatives that will help with team-building, increase staff satisfaction, personal development opportunities and loyalty. Many staff now look for wider aspects of satisfaction from their employers and therefore NGOs need to look at the ways in which they can use staff time, skills and knowledge to contribute to meeting objectives in ways that excite and engage people. In the private sector, there is a rapidly growing interest in skills-based volunteering where members of staff can contribute their particular expertise and knowledge to a project so think about what can be leverages from people other than just time.
4. Differentiate your offering from others: It is easy to do the easy stuff, but doing the same as everyone else is not going to get a company noticed. NGOs need to offer companies opportunities for engagement that are innovative and “stand out” from the crowd. The more common a project, the less likely it is going to give the business the reputational benefits that they want to achieve. Approach businesses with innovative ideas to address your objectives with will be original and will get noticed.
5. Be clear about timescales: There is often a mismatch between what NGOs and businesses consider to be a long term commitment. Many NGOs working on development agendas will often talk about 10 year plans, yet for the private sector, even a commitment to a three year project is seen as pretty long. Businesses want to see results fast and sometimes that is difficult to achieve, but at least there is a need to be clear about time frames to avoid unrealistic expectations from businesses. Companies are increasingly used to reporting on their social responsibility on an annual basis and that means they need to have something new and significant to say at least once every 12 months. Help them to tell an interesting “story”.
6. Be clear about what the different partners bring: An effective partnership is likely to bring together different resources, expertise, knowledge, time and commitment. It is important from the outset to be clear who does what and when. Partnerships often fail because of differing expectations on both sides of the relationship and this therefore needs to be carefully planned from the outset and monitored as the project progresses.
7. Make sure that projects resonate with employees: Companies often want to get their staff involved in projects and the NGO will benefit from that staff time and expertise. Yet unless a project actually resonates with staff they are unlikely to engage enthusiastically. Requiring staff to volunteer is a stupid (but all too common) strategy by some businesses that results in animosity and creates negative impacts for the NGO. Be sure, therefore, that any project really does have a cohort of willing, able and enthusiastic staff members that are genuinely interested in being part of it.
8. Meet a social or environmental need that is clearly articulated: Too many NGOs are simply looking for general funding to support their operations. This will not attract the private sector. Businesses want to understand exactly what they are supporting and what the outputs and outcomes of that support are likely to be. Businesses and their staff want to see that they have made a clearly identifiable difference that they can talk about. Thus it is important to identify the specific needs that a project seeks to address and to identify the ways in which meeting such needs can be verified.
9. Measure impacts: Ultimately, we only know if a project has really made a difference if we are able to measure its impacts. Whilst this is not always easy, ensuring that a project does have a positive impact is likely to cement a partnership and take it forward into a longer term relationship. Businesses will want evidence that the different types of resources that they have provided have made an identifiable and measureable impact. In any project planning there needs to be a methodology for assessing impact.
10. Communicate success: There is increasing pressure on businesses to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility and disclose the initiatives that they have been involved with along with their impacts. NGOs can therefore play a key role in helping companies to report and communicate their initiatives. NGO support, testimonials and even the link to the NGO brand can help the company to demonstrate its corporate commitments to a wide stakeholder base.
Source: http://csr-asia.com/csr-asia-weekly-news-detail.php?id=12427
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